Body of Kris Maharaj, who died in Florida prison hospital despite judge finding him innocent, will be taken to UK by his wife for burial
During the 38 years Kris Maharaj spent incarcerated in Florida prisons insisting he was innocent of murder, his wife, Marita, dreamed of a life together back in Britain.
This week they will finally be reunited on home soil but not in the way she had hoped.
Continue reading...Meanwhile, a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic is likely to develop into a named storm within days
Storm Debby, which initially struck Florida as a hurricane, caused widespread destruction as it moved up the east coast, leaving many without power and dealing with severe flooding.
The storm brought significant damage across Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, with power outages affecting large areas days after the storm’s passage. In Steuben County in New York, heavy rain triggered flash flooding, leading to road closures and evacuations. In Pennsylvania, numerous water rescues were necessary as flood waters rose rapidly.
Continue reading...More than 600 python hunters registered for the event that aims to reduce the population of the invasive species
Friday marked the start of the annual Florida Python Challenge, during which hunters head into the Everglades to track down invasive Burmese pythons in hopes of grabbing a share of $30,000 in prizes.
The annual 10-day hunt, which started more than a decade ago, promotes public awareness of issues with invasive species in Florida while engaging the public in Everglades conversation, said Sarah Funck, the wildlife impact management section leader with Florida’s fish and wildlife conservation commission.
Continue reading...Four new spots at his resort have opened at a 43% spike in a move seen as buying political influence
Donald Trump has set a million-dollar price tag for the ability to whisper in his ear should he win back the presidency in November, prompting ethics watchdogs to worry that the Republican nominee is selling access and political influence for personal gain.
Trump is making available four new and rarely available memberships at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he mingled freely with unvetted patrons during his first term of office and accepted policy advice from guests scrawled on cocktail napkins.
Continue reading...Named Debby, the storm system had maximum sustained wind speeds of 40mph and was moving toward the state
A tropical storm with near hurricane strength winds and life threatening storm surges is expected to crash into Florida’s Big Bend area on the northern Gulf coast shoreline by Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.
As of 5pm ET on Saturday, the storm, named Debby, had maximum sustained wind speeds of 40mph and was moving off the coast of Havana, Cuba, and towards Florida. The National Hurricane Center has designated Debby with an advisory 6.
Continue reading...Two suspects were killed and a third was injured when police stormed the house to rescue a deputy trapped inside
A Florida sheriff’s deputy was killed and two other deputies were wounded while attempting to reach the first officer in what police called an ambush shooting inside a home.
The three deputies were shot at a house in Eustis, Florida, on Friday night, Peyton Grinnell, the Lake county sheriff, said during a news conference at the scene.
Continue reading...Ex-president returns to campaign trail in Doral and makes baseless accusations but doesn’t name running mate
Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Florida on Tuesday night, hurling insults at Joe Biden and airing a litany of familiar grievances, but declining to name a running mate for November’s general election.
The former president and presumptive Republican nominee was speaking to a crowd of several hundred supporters at his golf club in Doral, a western suburb of Miami, keeping them waiting in 90F heat for a freewheeling monologue that began more than an hour later than scheduled.
Continue reading...Teen’s injuries weren’t considered life-threatening in shark attack, which are rare incidents, though Florida is US and world leader
A shark bit a Florida teen on the leg during a lifeguard training camp on Monday morning, officials said.
The attack on the 14-year-old boy in question occurred near the Ponce Inlet lifeguard tower shortly before noon, Volusia county beach safety officials said. The lifeguard trainee had been practicing water entries when he landed on a shark.
Continue reading...Political allies are also surprised at move, which cancels nearly entirety of state’s funding and will affect economy
Ron DeSantis stripped more than $32m in arts and culture funding from Florida’s state budget over his hatred of a popular fringe festival that he accused of being “a sexual event”, critics of the rightwing governor say.
DeSantis justified his unprecedented, wide-ranging veto of grants to almost 700 groups and organizations by saying it was “inappropriate” for $7,369 of state money to be allocated to Tampa fringe, a 10-day festival that took place earlier this month with a strong message of inclusivity, and its sister event in Orlando.
Continue reading...Swimmer off Fernandina beach was rescued by Nassau county marine unit after distress call from boat on Friday
A shark attack off Florida’s Atlantic coast left a man with a “severe bite to his right arm” on Friday, authorities say, leaving him in critical condition from blood loss.
The Nassau county sheriff’s office marine unit, which was patrolling off the coast of Fernandina beach near the Florida-Georgia border, said it had received a distress call from a boat on Friday and had applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Continue reading...Judge to decide fate of ex-prison guard trainee Zephen Xaver, who pleaded guilty to 2019 execution-style murders
A jury on Wednesday recommended a former prison guard trainee be sentenced to death for his execution-style murders of five women inside a Florida bank five years ago.
Jurors voted 9-3 to recommend Zephen Xaver, 27, receive the death penalty for the 23 January 2019 murders at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, about 85 miles (135km) south-east of Tampa.
Continue reading...Rapper who amassed tens of millions of streams for his emotional trap music was reportedly ambushed outside a Tampa hotel
US rapper Foolio has died at the age of 26 after being shot in a hotel car park in Tampa, Florida.
The rapper, real name Charles Jones, had amassed tens of millions of streams for a discography that stretches back to 2017.
Continue reading...Debris was from a pallet released from space station that did not burn up in atmospheric re-entry
A family in Naples, Florida, whose home was struck by debris that fell to Earth from outer space and punched a hole in the roof is pursuing $80,000 from Nasa in compensation for damages.
The law firm Cranfill Sumner said in a press release that it filed a claim on behalf of plaintiff Alejandro Otero and his family.
Continue reading...Wrapped in bald eagle packaging, 21kg of cocaine was found off the Florida Keys coast
Boaters have discovered $1m worth of cocaine off the coast of the Florida Keys, authorities announced.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Monroe county sheriff’s department announced that recreational boaters discovered a package containing approximately 21kg (61lbs) of packaged cocaine around seven miles (11km) off Islamorada, a village of islands in the Florida Keys.
Continue reading...Emergency services conduct at least 40 rescues and schools, courts and railways closed in some counties
Significant amounts of rain in the past two days have led the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, to declare a state of emergency for the counties of Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota, while the mayors of Miami-Dade, Miami and Fort Lauderdale also declared a state of emergency.
This has resulted in a number of closures for public schools, courts and Dania Beach’s city hall, where there were at least 40 rescues by emergency services. Rail routes across Miami and the surrounding area were also suspended. The flooding occurred after more than 380mm (15in) of rain fell on several southern Florida cities in just two days.
Continue reading...Group, known as Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May and will also be involved in school board races
The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has launched a political action committee that is targeting popular ballot amendments on abortion access and marijuana legalization that will be voted on in November.
The group, known as the Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May, Politico first reported. The committee is chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s chief of staff who was previously the Republican’s campaign manager during his unsuccessful presidential primary run.
Continue reading...Landmark verdict against Chiquita marks first time major US company held liable for funding human rights abuses abroad
A Florida court has ordered Chiquita Brands International to pay $38m to the families of eight Colombian men murdered by a paramilitary death squad, after the US banana giant was shown to have financed the terrorist organisation from 1997 to 2004.
The landmark ruling late on Monday came after 17 years of legal efforts and is the first time that the fruit multinational has paid out compensation to Colombian victims, opening the way for thousands of others to seek restitution.
Continue reading...Second world war veteran Harold Terens and Jeanne Swerlin enjoy wedding party – with Macron and Biden
Together, the collective age of the bride and groom was nearly 200. But second world war veteran Harold Terens and his sweetheart, Jeanne Swerlin, proved that love is eternal as they tied the knot Saturday inland of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France.
Their respective ages – he’s 100, she’s 96 – made their nuptials an almost double-century celebration.
Continue reading...Woman, 45, sustains ‘significant trauma’ and has part of arm amputated, as two teens injured in second attack
Two separate shark attacks at Florida beaches wounded three swimmers, including two teenagers, prompting some popular vacation spots to temporarily close, according to authorities.
A shark bit a 45-year-old woman at about 1.20pm on Friday while she swam at Watersound beach, along the coast of Walton county, Florida, in the eastern part of the state.
Continue reading...Patrol boat off Venezuelan coast shoots and sinks vessel suspected of carrying drugs as three people go overboard
A high-seas shootout pitting drug runners against the law ended with the smugglers’ boat at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and the US Coast Guard seizing $63m worth of cocaine, authorities in Florida said on Friday.
The dramatic encounter took place on Tuesday about 25 miles (40km) north of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, when the coast guard cutter Resolute – patrolling with the Dutch navy ship Groningen – identified a vessel in international waters suspected of carrying narcotics, according to a press release from the USCG south-east region.
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