Page 4 - Florida

Disney, Florida Governor end feud with deal on 15-year expansion plan

Under the agreement with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, Disney said it would spend at least $8 billion at the resort over a decade with a total of $17 billion invested over 10-20 year

After rare flash flood emergency, Florida prepares for more heavy rainfall

A tropical disturbance has brought a rare flash flood emergency to much of southern Florida as residents prepared to weather more heavy rainfall on Thursday and Friday. Wednesday's downpours and subsequent flooding blocked roads, floated vehicles and delayed the Florida Panthers on their way to Stanley Cup games in Canada against the Edmonton Oilers. The disorganised storm system was pushing across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico at roughly the same time as the early June start of hurricane season, which this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory amid concerns that climate change is increasing storm intensity. The disturbance has not reached cyclone status and was given only a slight chance to form into a tropical system once it emerges into the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Florida, according to the National Hurricane Centre. Regardless of development, heavy rainfall is forecast to continue across portions of the Florida peninsula during the next few days,

Firefighters battle wildfires across drought-stricken areas of Florida

Firefighters across central and southern Florida are battling wildfires that have temporarily shut down highways and caused some residents to be evacuated. On Sunday, firefighters in Pompano Beach said they found a "badly charred body" after they doused a brush fire. Officials said they couldn't determine whether the person was male or female. Firefighters said some people had been living in camps in the wooded area, but weren't sure if the victim had been living there. The cause of the fire and the death are being investigated. More than 900 acres had burned near Osteen in Volusia County as of Sunday, although the Florida Forest Service said the fire is now 90 per cent contained. The fire broke out on Saturday and may have been sparked by the remains of an earlier wildfire, Volusia County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Scott Smoak told WESH-TV. Most of central and southern Florida are currently experiencing drought conditions, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, with

Florida's 6-week abortion ban takes effect, draws doctors' criticism

Florida's ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant, went into effect on Wednesday, and some doctors are concerned that women in the state will no longer have access to needed health care. Dr. Leah Roberts, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist with Boca Fertility in Boca Raton, said the anti-abortion laws being enacted by Florida and other red states are being vaguely written by people who don't understand medical science. The rules are affecting not just women who want therapeutic abortions, meaning procedures to terminate viable pregnancies because of personal choice, but also nonviable pregnancies for women who want to have babies. We're coming in between them and their doctors and preventing them from getting care until it's literally saving their lives, sometimes at the expense of their fertility, Roberts said. The new ban has an exception for saving a woman's life, as well as in cases involving rape an

US poll: Trump's campaign raises $50.5 mn at high-dollar Florida fundraiser

Donald Trump's campaign said it raised $50.5 million on Saturday, a staggering reported haul as his campaign works to catch up to the fundraising juggernaut of President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. The reported haul from the event with major donors at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of billionaire investor John Paulson sets a new single-event fundraising record and is almost double the $26 million that Biden's campaign said it raised recently at a gathering with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at Radio City Music Hall in New York. It's clearer than ever that we have the message, the operation, and the money to propel President Trump to victory on November 5, his campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement. The event, billed as the Inaugural Leadership Dinner," sends a signal of a resurgence of Trump and the Republican Party's fundraising, which has lagged behind Biden and the Democrats. Trump boasted about his evening with wealt

1 dead, 2 injured after crane section falls from a South Florida high-rise

One person was killed and two others were hospitalised Thursday afternoon when a section of crane fell from a building in downtown Fort Lauderdale, officials said. Crews were in the process of stepping the crane during the construction of a high-rise building when a section being prepared to increase the crane's height came loose, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan said during a news conference. A construction worker fell with the crane section, causing fatal injuries, officials said. The crane itself remained secured to the building. The crane section landed on a nearby bridge, damaging at least two vehicles, Gollan said. A man and a woman who had been on the ground were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were listed in stable condition. Another person was treated at the scene and refused transport to the hospital. The bridge was damaged by the falling crane section, meaning the roadway will be closed indefinitely until it's repaired. The river that runs under the

Outpaced by Biden, Trump to rake in $33 million during Florida fundraiser

Former President Donald Trump's campaign is seeking to outraise President Joe Biden next week, aiming to take in USD 33 million to top a new single-event fundraising record set by Biden on Thursday with USD 25 million, said a person familiar with the Trump event who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. Trump is inviting wealthy donors to Palm Beach, Florida, home to his Mar-a-Lago estate, for an April 6 fundraiser hosted by New York hedge fund billionaire John Paulson and listing as co-chairs other high-dollar donors such as Las Vegas-based businessman Robert Bigelow, casino mogul Steve Wynn and New York grocery billionaire John Catsimatidis. Guests are being asked to contribute USD 814,600 per person as a "chairman" contributor or USD 250,000 per person. Perks of attendance include a personalised copy of Trump's coffee table book with photographs from his administration. Assuming that Trump succeeds in raking in the jaw-dropping sum, the glitzy event offers

Florida's DeSantis signs US' most restrictive social media bans for minors

Florida will have one of the US' most restrictive social media bans for minors -- if it withstands expected legal challenges -- under a bill signed by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday. The bill will ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds. It was slightly watered down from a proposal DeSantis vetoed earlier this month, a week before the annual legislative session ended. The new law was Republican Speaker Paul Renner's top legislative priority. It takes effect January 1. "A child in their brain development doesn't have the ability to know that they're being sucked into these addictive technologies and to see the harm and step away from it, and because of that we have to step in for them," Renner said at the bill-signing ceremony held at a Jacksonville school. The bill DeSantis vetoed would have banned minors under 16 from popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent. But before the ve

FBI arrests 3 in Florida on assault charges in Jan 6 insurrection

The FBI arrested three Florida residents on Saturday, the third anniversary of their alleged attack on Capitol police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Jonathan D. Pollock, 24; his sister, Olivia M. Pollock, 33; and Joseph D. Hutchinson, 27, were arrested at a ranch in Groveland, Florida, and will be arraigned on Monday, the FBI said in a statement. Groveland is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Orlando and about 45 miles (75 kilometers) north of their Lakeland homes. They had been indicted in April 2021. Jonathan Pollock had gone into hiding shortly after the attack. His sister and Hutchinson had been arrested in June 2021 and released on bond, but fled shortly before they were set to go on trial in Washington, D.C., last March. According to a 53-page indictment, Jonathan Pollock and Hutchinson are on video recordings repeatedly punching officers during the riots. Pollock is also alleged to have grabbed riot shields from officers, and he and Hutchinson are accuse

Shooting in Tampa street kills 2, injures 18 with hundreds of people nearby

A fight between two groups turned deadly in Florida when a shooting in a city street resulted in two deaths and 18 people hospitalized early Sunday morning, police said. Officers responded to the shooting in Tampa just before 3 a.m. on the 1600 block of East 7th Avenue in the Ybor City area, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said during a press conference at the scene. The fight occurred in an area with several bars and clubs and there were large numbers of late night revelers in the area at the time, Bercaw said. Police were not immediately sure if the people involved in the fight were inside any of the bars before the shooting. It was a disturbance or a fight between two groups. And in this fight between two groups we had hundreds of innocent people involved that were in the way, Bercaw said. He did not provide details of the injuries suffered by the victims taken to area hospitals. One suspect turned himself in to police, and investigators believe there were at least two shooters .

Disneyland raises ticket prices up to 9%, Florida annual passes rise too

The new prices take effect immediately, the company said in separate statements Wednesday

Florida's immigrants grapple with a disrupted reality under new law

For many in Florida's vast immigrant community, daily life in recent months has become one governed entirely by fear. Some try to drive as little as possible and make fewer trips to the supermarket. Others no longer take their children to the park and worry about allowing them to attend school. Others still are hiding out avoiding travel to other states, not getting regular medical check-ups, or closing their businesses and leaving town. And many are just on high alert all because of a new immigration law Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May. One of the strictest in the nation, the law criminalised transporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status into the state, invalidated any US government identification they might have and blocked local governments from providing them with ID cards. Florida hospitals that receive Medicaid are now mandated to ask patients about immigration status and businesses employing 25 or more people must verify their workers' legal status. Ot

Hurricane Idalia strengthens into a Category 2 storm with 100 mph winds

Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a Category 2 storm with 100 mph (155 kph) winds on Tuesday as it barrelled toward Florida's Gulf Coast. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said Idalia is expected to become a major hurricane Tuesday night before it reaches the Big Bend, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula, and is still likely to be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia on Wednesday. Authorities warned residents of vulnerable areas along the Gulf Coast to pack up and leave to escape the twin threats of high winds and devastating flooding. The hurricane could deal a big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year's Hurricane Ian. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia "an unprecedented event" since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend region. At 5 pm EDT Tuesday, Idalia was about 310 kilometers southwest of Tampa, the National Hurricane Centre said.

High ocean temperatures harming Florida coral reef, crews race to help

Steps away from the warming waters of Florida Bay, marine biologist Emily Becker removed covers from the dozens of water-filled tanks under her watchful eye. Nestled in seawater carefully maintained at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) lay hundreds of pieces of coral some a sickly white from the bleaching that threatens to kill them, others recovered to a healthy bright iodine in colour. As Becker looked over the coral, crews of reef rescue groups arrived in trucks carrying more brought up by divers in a massive effort aimed at saving the coral from an ocean that is cooking it alive. People jumped into action really quickly, as best as they could, Becker said, wiping sweat from her brow. Up and down the chain of islands that form the Florida Keys, coral rescue groups and government and academic institutions have mobilized to save the coral from a historic bleaching event that experts say threatens the viability of the third-largest reef tract in the world. They've

DeSantis acknowledges truth about Donald Trump's 2020 election lies

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said definitively that rival Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, an acknowledgement the Florida governor made after years of equivocating answers. Of course he lost, DeSantis said an interview with NBC News posted Monday. Joe Biden's the president. DeSantis has often sidestepped questions about whether he believes the 2020 election results were legitimate. But in recent days he has started publicly questioning the lies that Trump and his allies have made about the election's legitimacy. Federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general said there was no credible evidence the election's outcome was affected by fraud. The former president's allegations were also roundly rejected by courts at the time, including judges he appointed. Last week, Trump was charged by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith with four felonies related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the ..

Judge sets trial date for next May in Trump's classified documents case

A federal judge in Florida has set a trial date for next May for former President Donald Trump in a case charging him with illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents. The May 20, 2024, trial date is a compromise between a request from prosecutors to set the trial for this December and a request from defense lawyers to schedule it after the 2024 presidential election.

Shooting at a South Florida Walmart leaves one dead, another wounded

A shooting Wednesday afternoon at a South Florida Walmart killed one person and wounded another, authorities said, adding that several other people were injured in the commotion that followed. The shooting occurred following a quarrel between two groups at the Walmart in Florida City, about 40 kilometers southwest of Miami, Miami-Dade police spokesperson Alvaro Zabaleta said. One person was arrested, and police were looking for five more suspects. Rescue workers transported two victims to a Miami trauma centre, and one later died. The man who died was involved in the confrontation, while the other victim was a bystander who was shot in the foot, police said. Several others were injured during the commotion caused by the shooting, officials said. A woman who fell and hit her head was taken to a hospital. Rescue workers treated five other people for minor cuts and scrapes outside the store.

Russia sought to kill high-ranking intelligence official in Florida

A failed plot to assassinate a C.I.A. spy in 2020 in part led to expulsions of the agency's chief in Moscow and his Russian counterpart in Washington

From Texas to Florida, nearly 35 million people brace for heat wave

From the state of Texas to Florida, about 35 million people in the US are bracing for a widespread heat wave which is expected to last for days, the National Weather Service (NWS) said

Trump travels to Florida as court appearance nears in classified docs case

Donald Trump was travelling to Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance this week on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department's efforts to get the records back. Trump's Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time since April facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department's first prosecution of a former president concerns conduct that prosecutors say jeopardised national security, with Espionage Act charges carrying the prospect of a significant prison sentence. Ahead of his court date, he and his allies have been escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests. He's ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case, calling Jack Smith deranged" as he repeated without any evidence his claims that