Articles tagged with florida

Wed, May 23, 2012

William Levy's Florida home in foreclosure - report

From WENN.com

The Cuban hunk, who shot to fame as Jennifer Lopez's toned love interest in her I'm Into You video ...

Wed, May 23, 2012

Florida student pleads guilty to threat on Obama's life

MIAMI (Reuters) - A college student pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to threatening in a Facebook post to kill President Barack Obama by ...

Wed, May 23, 2012

Slain Florida marching band student asked for hazing: defendant

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida college marching band member killed in a brutal 2011 hazing wanted to submit to the ritual ...

Fri, May 18, 2012

Half of Florida high school students fail reading test

MIAMI (Reuters) - Nearly half of Florida high school students failed the reading portion of the state's new toughened standardized test, education officials said ...

Wed, May 16, 2012

Virginia, Florida have most well-read cities in U.S.: poll

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York and Boston may strike many as more intellectual but Alexandria, a small urban area in Virginia just outside Washington ...

Mon, May 14, 2012

Florida mother kills her four children, then herself

MIAMI (Reuters) - A mother shot and killed her four children before turning a gun on herself in a small town in Florida on Tuesday ...

Mon, May 14, 2012

OSHA probing former Florida postal worker's illness claims

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service said it is cooperating with a U.S. government investigation into a former postal worker's claim ...

Mon, May 14, 2012

Florida college band suspended indefinitely over hazing death

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Florida A&M University has suspended its celebrated marching band indefinitely as it grapples with the beating death ...

Sun, May 13, 2012

Top aide to Florida governor resigns amid scrutiny

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - A top aide to Florida Governor Rick Scott has resigned after a recent flurry of media reports focused on his ...

Fri, May 11, 2012

Florida says 180,000 non-citizens may be on voter rolls

By Kevin Gray

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida election authorities are examining about 180,000 people who they say may not be U.S. citizens but ...

Thu, May 10, 2012

Florida college band director resigns amid hazing probe

By Barbara Liston and Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida A&M University's band director resigned on Thursday in the latest fallout from ...

Thu, May 10, 2012

Florida Supreme Court hears landmark foreclosure suit

By Michelle Conlin

(Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday in a landmark lawsuit that could undo hundreds of thousands of foreclosures ...

Wed, May 09, 2012

Florida foreclosure case could slam banks

By Michelle Conlin

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Thursday in a lawsuit that could undo hundreds ...

Wed, May 09, 2012

Florida nabs white supremacists planning "race war"

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Ten alleged members of a white supremacist group training near Orlando and Disney World for a "race war ...

Tue, May 08, 2012

Shaquille O'Neal earns doctorate from Florida university

From WENN.com

The retired sportsman earned his doctoral degree in Education from Barry University and he accepted his award during a commencement ceremony ...

Tue, May 08, 2012

Florida nabs white supremacists planning "race war"

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Ten alleged members of a white supremacist group training near Orlando and Disney World for a "race war ...

Mon, May 07, 2012

Shaquille O'Neal earns doctorate from Florida university

From WENN.com

The retired sportsman earned his doctoral degree in Education from Barry University and he accepted his award during a commencement ceremony ...

Sun, May 06, 2012

Last defendant in Florida hazing death turns herself in

By Lily Kuo

(Reuters) - The last of 11 people charged in the death of a Florida A&M University drum major turned herself in on Sunday, state officials said.

Lasherry Codner, 20, surrendered to local authorities at the Orange County Jail in Florida, said a statement from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"We began contacting (her family) on Thursday and she turned herself in today," said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the department.

Codner joins ten others who face third-degree felony charges of "hazing with death," which is punishable under Florida law by a maximum of six years in prison, for the death of 26-year-old drum major Robert Champion Jr.

Champion was beaten to death on a band charter bus in November 2011 in a case that has drawn public scrutiny of hazing, a ritual that critics say has gone on for years at the Tallahassee-based Florida A&M University.

Plessinger said Codner had been in Georgia and had to travel to Florida to meet authorities. She said law enforcement had contacted all of the defendants and "urged them to turn themselves in."

Champion died after the university's renowned "Marching 100" band performed at the annual Florida Classic football game in Orlando.

The 26-year-old's death was ruled a homicide as a result of a "hemorrhagic shock" caused by "blunt force trauma" during the hazing, according to the medical examiner's report.

Under a Florida law passed last year, a death resulting from hazing is considered a homicide punishable by a "felony level penalty," not a homicide warranting murder charges, said Florida State Attorney Lawson Lamar, who has jurisdiction over Orange and Osceola counties.

Two other defendants face a misdemeanor charge for their involvement in the incident.

(Reporting by Lily Kuo; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Thu, May 03, 2012

Crackdown on drug thieves has trails to Florida

By Ransdell Pierson

(Reuters) - Prosecutors in a number of states have charged dozens of suspects with stealing prescription drugs from warehouses and tractor trailers ...

Thu, May 03, 2012

Romney pulls into tie with Obama in Ohio, Florida: poll

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pulled into a virtual tie with President Barack Obama in the crucial swing states of Ohio ...

Wed, May 02, 2012

Charges filed in hazing death of Florida university drum major

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Thirteen people were charged on Wednesday in the death of a drum major for Florida A&M University's celebrated marching band who died after a brutal hazing ritual last November, a state prosecutor said.

Eleven of the accused were charged with a third-degree felony for "hazing with death," punishable under Florida law by a maximum of six years in jail, said Florida's Ninth Circuit State Attorney Lawson Lamar. Two others will face a misdemeanor charge, he said.

The charges capped a lengthy investigation into the death of drum major Robert Champion, who died on a band charter bus after the university's renowned "Marching 100" band performed at the annual Florida Classic football game.

"The family is very disappointed" that murder charges were not pursued, said Chris Chestnut, the lawyer for the Champion family.

So far only one of those charged has been arrested, officials said. They declined to name any of the defendants in order not to tip them off.

Champion's death was ruled a homicide as a result of a "hemorrhagic shock" caused by blunt force trauma during the hazing, according to the medical examiner's office.

"Robert Champion died as a result of being beaten," Lamar said. "His death is not linked to one sole strike but is attributed to multiple blows."

The beating took place while the bus was parked at an Orlando hotel following the game.

Lamar said that under a Florida law passed last year a hazing that results in serious bodily injury or death is punishable by a "felony-level penalty," rather than murder charges.

At a press conference in January, the drum major's parents, Robert and Pam Champion said they were still searching for answers as to why their son was targeted. They confirmed he was gay but rejected what they called rumors that his sexual orientation made him a hazing target.

Pam Champion said her son was defined not by his sexuality but by his leadership skills. She said he was known to reject hazing.

"Perhaps one of the motives might have been retaliatory," she said.

Lamar said most authorities would rather not acknowledge that a tradition of hazing in colleges "is something that will continue to happen out of sight until a student like Robert Champion pays the ultimate price."

Robert Champion Sr. said he knew nothing about the 50-year culture of hazing at the FAMU band when he sent his son off to school. Champion said he regularly spoke by phone to his son, and that he always ended the calls by asking whether his son had anything he needed to tell him.

"He never mentioned anything to me about hazing," Robert Champion Sr. said.

The FAMU case has highlighted a nationwide problem at universities as well as the military.

Students at Boston University are under investigation for an incident earlier this month involving five male students who were found covered in condiments, bound together and shivering in their underwear in an off-campus house, police said, in an apparent fraternity hazing incident.

Three U.S. Marines were accused of hazing a fellow Marine who later killed himself last year. One Marine pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days of confinement and a demotion. Two other Marines were acquitted by a military jury.

FAMU in January banned all student organizations from recruiting new members until fall and canceled summer band camp.

A lawyer told Reuters that two FAMU music professors recently resigned after a Tallahassee police report alleged they were present at a band party where students were hazed.

One professor, Diron Holloway, allegedly took part in beating students who were pledging for a fraternity during a party at his home in the spring of 2010, the police said.

Students who attended the party told investigators that another professor, Anthony Simons III, was present, according to the police report.

Tallahassee defense attorney Mutaqee Akbar told Reuters both men resigned after receiving letters from the university notifying them its intent to dismiss them. Akbar has told Reuters that Simons doesn't remember whether he was at the party but that he never witnessed or participated in hazing.

(Writing by David Adams; Editing by ...

Wed, May 02, 2012

Florida governor rejects Republican convention gun ban

By Michael Peltier

Tallahassee, Florida (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott has rejected a request by Tampa's mayor to allow local authorities to ban ...

Wed, May 02, 2012

Charges filed in hazing death of Florida university drum major

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Thirteen people were charged on Wednesday in the death of a drum major for Florida A&M University's celebrated marching band who was subjected to a brutal hazing ritual last November, a state prosecutor said.

Rather than face murder charges, 11 of the defendants were accused of a third-degree felony for "hazing with death," punishable under Florida law by a maximum of six years in prison, said Florida State Attorney Lawson Lamar. Two others face a misdemeanor charge, he said.

The charges capped a lengthy investigation into the death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion, who died on a band charter bus after the university's renowned "Marching 100" band performed at the annual Florida Classic football game.

"I was a little disappointed. I thought the charges would be a little harsher," said the drum major's mother, Pam Champion. She called for a federal law that would make hazing a more serious crime.

So far only one of those charged has been arrested, said officials, who declined to name any of the defendants in order not to tip them off. Almost all are believed to be students who were traveling on the bus with Champion.

Champion's death was "nothing short of an American tragedy," said Lamar, state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties in central Florida. "Hazing in our nation's colleges and universities ... is a tradition we cannot tolerate in America."

The 26-year-old's death was ruled a homicide as a result of a "hemorrhagic shock" caused by "blunt force trauma" during the hazing, according to the medical examiner's report.

"His death is not linked to one sole strike but is attributed to multiple blows," said Lamar. "He had extensive contusions on his chest, arms, shoulder and back."

The beating took place while the bus was parked at an Orlando hotel following a band performance at the high-profile football game.

Lamar said that under a Florida law passed last year, a hazing that results in serious bodily injury or death is considered a homicide punishable by a "felony level penalty," not a homicide warranting murder charges.

FAMILY SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS

The family's lawyer Chris Chestnut blamed a poor investigation for the lack of murder charges. Chestnut said authorities failed to seize evidence on the bus the night of Champion's death, or separate and immediately interview the other students.

Chestnut said the students rode the same bus back to Tallahassee the next morning, and the bus was cleaned and put back into service.

He said the family's own civil investigation had turned up students who said they had received text messages from alumni "on how not to get caught."

The Champion family have said they are still searching for answers as to why their son was targeted. They have confirmed that he was gay, but rejected what they called "rumors" that his sexual orientation made him a hazing target.

Pam Champion said her son was defined not by his sexuality but by his leadership skills. She said he was known to reject hazing.

"Perhaps one of the motives might have been retaliatory," she said.

Champion's father has said he knew nothing about the 50-year culture of hazing at the FAMU band when he sent his son off to school. He said they regularly spoke by phone, and that he always ended the calls by asking whether his son had anything he needed to tell his dad.

"He never mentioned anything to me about hazing," Robert Champion Sr. said.

The FAMU case has highlighted a nationwide problem at universities as well as the military.

Students at Boston University are under investigation for an incident this month involving five people who were found covered in condiments, bound together and shivering in their underwear in an off-campus house, police said.

The five male BU students, were victims of an apparent fraternity hazing incident.

Three U.S. Marines were accused of hazing a fellow Marine who later killed himself last year. One Marine pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days of confinement and a demotion. Two other Marines were acquitted by a military jury.

FAMU in January banned all student organizations from recruiting new members until fall and canceled summer band camp.

Two FAMU music professors recently resigned after a Tallahassee police report alleged they were present at a band party where students were hazed, a lawyer told Reuters.

Tallahassee defense attorney Mutaqee Akbar said that both men resigned after receiving letters from the university notifying them of its intent to dismiss them.

(Writing by David Adams; Editing by ...

Tue, May 01, 2012

Charges to be filed in Florida hazing death: authorities

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Multiple people will be charged in the case of a Florida marching band drum major who was killed ...

Tue, May 01, 2012

Florida governor takes aim at firms with ties to Cuba, Syria

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott waded into foreign policy on Tuesday and signed a bill banning local governments from contracting ...

Mon, April 30, 2012

Florida school district officials accused of racism

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A federal lawsuit against a Florida school district alleges two black women who scored well on an adult ...

Mon, April 30, 2012

Bomb-sniffing dogs enlisted to stem Florida python invasion

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO (Reuters) - Some bomb-sniffing dogs trained to help fight terrorism are turning their olfactory attention toward a different scourge: Burmese pythons ...

Thu, April 26, 2012

Florida judge rejects bail hike for Trayvon Martin's killer

By Barbara Liston

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida judge rejected a prosecution request to raise the bond for George Zimmerman on Friday, after it ...

Thu, April 26, 2012

Florida judge blocks drug tests for state workers

MIAMI (Reuters) - A federal judge in Miami has tossed out an executive order from Florida Governor Rick Scott requiring drug testing of state employees ...

Wed, April 25, 2012

Feds weigh pulling drug licenses for two Florida CVS stores

By Ian Simpson

ARLINGTON, Va (Reuters) - A federal hearing began on Wednesday on whether to bar two CVS Caremark Corp drugstores in Florida from ...

Mon, April 23, 2012

Washington sues Florida city over firefighter tests

MIAMI (Reuters) - The Justice Department sued the city of Jacksonville, Florida, on Monday, claiming its use of written tests to determine promotions in the ...

Mon, April 23, 2012

Trayvon Martin's killer leaves Florida jail

By David Manning

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed black teenager ...

Fri, April 20, 2012

Trayvon Martin's killer gets bail, apologizes to family

By Barbara Liston and Chris Francescani

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman apologized to the family of Trayvon Martin on Friday, stunning ...

Thu, April 19, 2012

Florida judge to decide on bond for Trayvon Martin's killer

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida judge will decide on Friday whether to release George Zimmerman on bail before his trial for ...

Thu, April 19, 2012

Florida governor names "Stand Your Ground" task force

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A week after murder charges were filed against George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin, Florida Governor ...

Wed, April 18, 2012

Florida judge steps down from George Zimmerman trial

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida judge removed herself as expected on Wednesday from presiding over the second-degree murder trial of George ...

Tue, April 17, 2012

Florida judge in Trayvon Martin case to decide on recusal

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida judge will decide this week whether to step down from the second-degree murder trial of George ...

Fri, April 13, 2012

Florida seeks to delay approval of BP settlement

By Erin Geiger Smith

(Reuters) - The Attorney General for the State of Florida has asked a federal court to delay granting preliminary approval of ...

Fri, April 13, 2012

Obama touts Latin American exports in pivotal Florida

By Laura MacInnis

TAMPA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made a pitstop in the 2012 election battleground state of Florida on his way to a ...

Thu, April 12, 2012

Florida executes serial killer who murdered six women

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida serial killer who admitted he murdered six women in the 1980s to satisfy his sexual urges ...

Thu, April 12, 2012

Alleged shooter of Florida teen Trayvon Martin appears in court

By Tom Brown and Chris Francescani

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman made his first courtroom appearance since he was charged with the fatal shooting ...

Thu, April 12, 2012

Shooter of black Florida teen Trayvon Martin faces court hearing

By Tom Brown and Chris Francescani

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman will make his first public appearance since the fatal shooting of unarmed black ...

Wed, April 11, 2012

Florida shooter Zimmerman is "very lucid": defense attorney

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The new lawyer for George Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murder in the death of ...

Wed, April 11, 2012

Bail hearing set for shooter of Florida teen Trayvon Martin

By Barbara Liston

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman, charged with killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, will remain in police custody for at least ...

Wed, April 11, 2012

Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman in police custody in Florida: reports

(Reuters) - George Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in February, is in police custody, NBC News ...

Wed, April 11, 2012

Charges expected in shooting of black Florida teen

By Tom Brown

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida special prosecutor was expected to announce a criminal charge on Wednesday against the neighborhood watch volunteer ...

Wed, April 11, 2012

Florida serial killer faces execution for teen's murder

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - A serial killer convicted of murdering six women in Florida in the early 1980s is scheduled to be executed ...

Wed, April 11, 2012

Clock ticks down on Florida teen's killer Zimmerman

By Tom Brown

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The U.S. attorney general said Wednesday there was a "high bar" to bring federal civil rights charges ...

Wed, April 11, 2012

Ex-lawyers say Florida teen shooter not flight risk

(Reuters) - The former lawyers for a neighborhood watch volunteer who killed an unarmed black Florida teen said on Wednesday he is not a flight ...

Tue, April 10, 2012

Road teams all win to regain control in playoffs

(Reuters) - The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins posted tight Game Three away victories to regain control of their Stanley Cup Eastern Conference quarter-finals ...

Mon, April 09, 2012

Two Florida anti-hazing task force members quit over public meetings

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Two members have stepped down from a task force charged with making recommendations to stop hazing at a ...

Mon, April 09, 2012

Kalamazoo Woman involved in Florida Wreck that Kills Motorcyclist.

BRADENTON, FLORIDA (WKZO)   A Kalamazoo woman has been cited by The Florida Highway Patrol for failing to yield to a motorcyclist who was killed ...

Sun, April 08, 2012

Racist past haunts Florida town where Trayvon died

By Tom Brown

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The year before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming the first African American to play major ...

Fri, April 06, 2012

Florida college may sideline band over hazing death

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida college rocked by the hazing death of a student who served in the ranks of its ...

Thu, April 05, 2012

Shooter of unarmed Florida teen gets second lawyer

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Florida has acquired extra ...

Wed, April 04, 2012

Prosecutor in Florida shooting case has tough reputation

By Amy Wimmer Schwarb

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Angela Corey, the prosecutor investigating the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Florida, has been ...

Wed, April 04, 2012

Shootings stir more tension in fearful Florida city

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Two drive-by shootings this week have ratcheted up tensions in this central Florida city, which has been rocked by protests and ...

Wed, April 04, 2012

Prosecutor in Florida teen shooting aims to do "right thing"

By Amy Wimmer Schwarb

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Angela Corey, the prosecutor handpicked to investigate the shooting death of an unarmed black teen in Florida ...

Mon, April 02, 2012

Prosecutor denies interfering in Florida shooting case

By Daniel Trotta and Barbara Liston

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida prosecutor who removed himself from the investigation into the shooting death of black ...

Mon, April 02, 2012

Lawyer: Zimmerman will surrender if charged in Florida shooting

By Daniel Trotta

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman will surrender to authorities if he is charged in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager ...

Mon, April 02, 2012

Florida shooter would surrender if charged: lawyer

By Daniel Trotta

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman would surrender to authorities if he is charged in the Florida shooting death of unarmed black ...

Sat, March 31, 2012

Take Charge Indy wins Florida Derby

(Reuters) - Take Charge Indy booked his place in this year's Kentucky Derby with an upset victory in Saturday's $1 million Florida Derby ...

Sat, March 31, 2012

Florida teenager's hometown turns out in Miami protest

By David Adams

MIAMI (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters gathered in a downtown bayfront park on Sunday demanding the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer ...

Fri, March 30, 2012

Florida panel investigating hazing will meet publicly

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida college under pressure to fix its culture of brutal hazing zig-zagged over the past week on ...

Fri, March 30, 2012

Florida teen's body showed no sign of fight, funeral director says

MIAMI (Reuters) - The Florida funeral director who prepared Trayvon Martin's body for burial said there were no bruises or other signs of a ...

Thu, March 29, 2012

Professor at Florida's FAMU suspended over hazing

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A music professor at Florida A&M University, the school rocked by the hazing death of a marching ...

Wed, March 28, 2012

Shooter of Florida teen appears uninjured in video

By Daniel Trotta

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The neighborhood watch volunteer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager in Florida appeared uninjured when he was ...

Wed, March 28, 2012

Florida Republican Senator Rubio endorses Romney

By JoAnne Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, endorsed Mitt Romney on Wednesday calling the ...

Wed, March 28, 2012

Hazing reported at Florida professor's home, police say no charges

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida college roiled by the hazing death of a marching band drum major last fall now faces ...

Wed, March 28, 2012

Teen guilty in British tourists' deaths in Florida

By Ileana Morales

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida jury found a teenager guilty on Wednesday of gunning down two British tourists in the coastal ...

Wed, March 28, 2012

Lawmaker dons "hoodie" in appeal over Florida killing

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A national debate over the killing of a black teenager in Florida spilled into the House of Representatives on ...

Wed, March 28, 2012

Passenger held in Florida for mid-air scuffle over alcohol

MIAMI (Reuters) - A New Jersey woman was in custody in Florida on Wednesday after flying into a "kicking and screaming" rage and attacking crew ...

Tue, March 27, 2012

Missing Montana children found on dad's boat off Florida

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Coast Guard team recovered three missing Montana children from their father's sailboat off the Florida coast on Tuesday and took ...

Mon, March 26, 2012

Slain Florida teen had marijuana residue in book bag: spokesman

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The unarmed Florida teen whose fatal shooting by a neighborhood watch captain set off a national uproar had been suspended from ...

Mon, March 26, 2012

Justice will prevail in shooting case: Florida Governor

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott on Monday cautioned against a rush to judgment in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin ...

Sun, March 25, 2012

Black friend defends shooter of Florida teen

By Daniel Trotta

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman is not a racist and cried for days after shooting dead a black Florida teenager, a ...

Sun, March 25, 2012

Killer of Florida teen told police he was attacked first

By Barbara Liston

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The man who shot and killed an unarmed Florida teenager in a case that has sparked widespread public ...

Sat, March 24, 2012

Shooter of Florida teen not a racist, lawyer says

By Daniel Trotta

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Florida (Reuters) - The lawyer representing the man who shot dead a black Florida teenager said the public image of ...

Fri, March 23, 2012

Heat make "hoodie" protest over Florida teenager death

By Simon Evans

Orlando, Florida (Reuters) - Miami Heat basketball players posed in "hoodies" in a picture published on Friday to protest against the Florida ...

Fri, March 23, 2012

Florida man lives to tell of 'shoot first' horror

By Tom Brown

MIAMI (Reuters) - On June 5, 2006, not long after Florida enacted the first "Stand Your Ground" law in the United States ...

Fri, March 23, 2012

Obama gets personal over killing of black Florida teenager

By Jeff Mason and Daniel Trotta

WASHINGTON/SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - President Barack Obama weighed into the controversial killing of a black teenager in Florida ...

Fri, March 23, 2012

Florida man lives to tell of 'shoot first' horror

By Tom Brown

MIAMI (Reuters) - On June 5, 2006, not long after Florida enacted the first "Stand Your Ground" law in the United States ...

Thu, March 22, 2012

Florida man to plead guilty in celebrity hacking case: prosecutors

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man accused of hacking into the email accounts of film star Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities to ...

Thu, March 22, 2012

Bagel pioneer Murray Lender dies at 81 in Florida

By Jason McLure

(Reuters) - Murray Lender, who made a traditionally Jewish food a staple of American cuisine and built a frozen bagel empire, died ...

Thu, March 22, 2012

Police chief in "Stand Your Ground" killing steps down

By Daniel Trotta and Barbara Liston

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A local police chief and a Florida state prosecutor overseeing the case of an unarmed ...

Thu, March 22, 2012

Florida police chief under fire in case of slain teen

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Florida politicians and civil rights leaders joined calls for the firing of a police chief in the case ...

Thu, March 22, 2012

Ignore Florida law on Cuba trade, county attorney says

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida had no authority to enact a pending law that would prohibit local governments from hiring firms that do business with Cuba ...

Wed, March 21, 2012

Parents of slain Florida teen speak at New York rally

By Jonathan Allen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Trayvon Martin's mother on Wednesday told hundreds of protesters demanding an arrest in the shooting death of ...

Wed, March 21, 2012

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush endorses Romney for president

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Wednesday endorsed Mitt Romney to be the Republican nominee for president and urged the party to ...

Tue, March 20, 2012

Florida teen's slaying spotlights phantom gun effect

By Sharon Begley

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the investigation continues into last month's fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager killed ...

Tue, March 20, 2012

Florida state workers face random drug tests under new law

(Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed a law allowing state employees to be randomly tested for drugs, a measure likely to draw a ...

Tue, March 20, 2012

Florida state workers face random drug tests under new law

(Reuters) - Florida Governer Rick Scott has signed as expected a law allowing state employees to be randomly tested for illegal drugs, a measure likely ...

Tue, March 20, 2012

Els disappointed and angry after missing out in Florida

(Reuters) - Ernie Els is disappointed and angry after wasting a glorious chance to end his victory drought in golf's Transitions Championship at the ...

Mon, March 19, 2012

Phone call reveals final moments of slain Florida teen: lawyer

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The case of an unarmed black teenager shot dead by a white neighborhood watch captain who police have ...

Sun, March 18, 2012

FBI monitoring fatal Florida shooting case, as police criticized

(Reuters) - Federal authorities said on Sunday they were in contact with local police investigating the killing of a black teenager last month by a ...

Fri, March 16, 2012

Florida man arrested for abusing severely emaciated son

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man has been arrested for the "malicious punishment" of his 13-year-old son, who was so emaciated when he was found ...

Fri, March 16, 2012

#Update: Detroit Tigers press on 9-1 in Florida's Grapefruit League

LAKELAND, FL (WKZO) -- The Detroit Tigers are faring well this year in the heat of Florida's pre-season Grapefruit League. Even Jim Leyland has ...

Wed, March 14, 2012

Florida claims success against "pill mills"

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida's year-old crackdown on "pill mill" clinics has made significant strides in combating the illegal distribution of widely ...

Wed, March 14, 2012

CVS Florida stores can stay open: appeals court

By Anna Yukhananov

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A appeals court ruled that CVS Caremark Corp may continue selling potentially addictive prescription drugs at two Florida pharmacies ...

Tue, March 13, 2012

Court lets two CVS stores sell controlled drugs

By Anna Yukhananov

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An appeals court ruled that CVS Caremark Corp may continue selling potentially addictive prescription drugs at two Florida pharmacies ...

Sun, March 11, 2012

Florida passes bill to test state workers for drugs

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure allowing state agency heads to randomly test employees for illegal drugs ...

Fri, March 09, 2012

Florida rejects 'Parent Trigger' bill for failing schools

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida's state Senate narrowly killed a bill on Friday that would have allowed parents with children in ...

Fri, March 09, 2012

Florida to test state workers randomly for drugs, alcohol

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure allowing state agencies to randomly test up to 10 percent of ...

Thu, March 08, 2012

Florida poised to enact "Caylee's law" inspired by girl's death

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - The Florida legislature on Thursday passed and sent to the governor a law intended to protect missing children ...

Wed, March 07, 2012

Florida Republican lawmakers scoff at $2 billion pension ruling

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida's Republican budget leaders said on Wednesday they were not panicked by a court ruling that could ...

Wed, March 07, 2012

Private funeral for Davy Jones held in Florida

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A private funeral was held on Wednesday for onetime teen heartthrob and pop singer from The Monkees, Davy Jones, near his ...

Wed, March 07, 2012

Florida honors student wins reprieve from deportation

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Miami high school honors student who faced imminent deportation to Colombia has won a two-year reprieve after 2,000 fellow students ...

Tue, March 06, 2012

Florida deputy shot and killed trying to stop robbery

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A central Florida deputy was shot and killed on Tuesday after stopping a couple suspected of stealing furniture ...

Tue, March 06, 2012

Heroin disguised as candy seized at Florida airport

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. Customs inspectors seized 172 lollipops with heroin hidden in their centers from a jittery smuggler at Orlando ...

Tue, March 06, 2012

Two dead in shooting at Florida high school

MIAMI (Reuters) - A teacher who had been fired earlier in the day returned to a Florida high school on Tuesday with an assault rifle ...

Tue, March 06, 2012

Abortion bill stalls in Florida Senate

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A controversial measure requiring women to wait 24 hours before undergoing an abortion stalled on Monday in the ...

Mon, March 05, 2012

Florida polo magnate faces vehicular homicide trial

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A polo magnate is scheduled to go on trial on Tuesday on a vehicular homicide charge in Florida ...

Mon, March 05, 2012

Abortion bill stalls in Florida Senate

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A controversial measure requiring women to wait 24 hours before undergoing an abortion stalled on Monday in the ...

Mon, March 05, 2012

Florida parents could decide school fate under pending bill

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida has become the latest battleground state in a movement to let parents leap-frog over their elected school ...

Mon, March 05, 2012

Court blocks DEA's Florida suspension of Cardinal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has agreed to temporarily allow Cardinal Health Inc to continue distributing strictly-controlled prescription drugs from a Florida ...

Fri, March 02, 2012

Florida bill on 'inspirational messages' in schools advances

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida students will be allowed to offer an "inspirational message" at graduations, pep rallies and other school events ...

Fri, March 02, 2012

Florida House passes 24-hour wait for abortions

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Women seeking abortions would be required to wait 24 hours under a bill passed by the Florida House ...

Wed, February 29, 2012

Former Monkee Davy Jones dies at age 66 in Florida

By Piya Sinha-Roy and Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Davy Jones, a onetime teen heartthrob as a member of the 1960s made-for-television pop band ...

Wed, February 29, 2012

DEA, Cardinal brace for ruling over Florida license

By Toni Clarke

(Reuters) - A key court ruling is expected on Wednesday in an ongoing battle between Cardinal Health Inc and the Drug Enforcement ...

Wed, February 15, 2012

Florida executes man for woman's 1980 murder

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida executed a 65-year-old man on Wednesday who had spent more than three decades on death row for ...

Wed, February 15, 2012

Florida set to execute man for 1980 murder

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida is scheduled on Wednesday to execute a 65-year-old man who has spent more than three decades on ...

Tue, February 14, 2012

Florida Senate defeats prison privatization bill

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A measure to turn over nearly a third of Florida's prisons to private for-profit corporations died in ...

Tue, February 14, 2012

Obama wants $2.1 billion for NASA's Florida spaceport

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 budget for NASA boosts spending at the Kennedy Space Center, which ...

Mon, February 13, 2012

Parents of Florida hazing victim sue bus company

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - The parents of a Florida college drum major killed in an apparent hazing incident sued a company on ...

Tue, February 07, 2012

Florida prison privatization stalls in legislature

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A proposal to privatize at least 26 prisons in south Florida is facing stiff opposition in the Florida ...

Tue, February 07, 2012

Teen recovering after losing family in Florida crash

By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Lidiane Carmo remains hospitalized and unable to walk without assistance more than a week after a series of horrific ...

Fri, February 03, 2012

Last three victims identified from Florida pileups

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A medical examiner has positively identified the final unknown victims of the grisly Florida highway pileups that claimed ...

Fri, February 03, 2012

DEA suspends Cardinal Health license in Florida

By Toni Clarke

(Reuters) - Cardinal Health Inc said on Friday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has suspended its license to distribute potentially ...

Fri, February 03, 2012

Florida casino gambling bill is dead for 2012

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A bill that would have ushered in the largest gambling expansion in Florida history was withdrawn by its ...

Wed, February 01, 2012

Death toll in Florida pileups rises to 11

(Reuters) - The death toll in Sunday's devastating highway pileups in northern Florida has risen to 11 after authorities discovered another body in a ...

Tue, January 31, 2012

Florida college cancels band camp after hazing scandal

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A Florida university on Tuesday banned all student organizations from recruiting new members until next fall and cancelled ...

Tue, January 31, 2012

Romney leads in Florida presidential primary: TV networks

TAMPA (Reuters) - Mitt Romney had a large lead in the Florida Republican U.S. presidential primary on Tuesday, with nearly one third of the ...

Tue, January 31, 2012

Florida patrol defends decision that led to 10 traffic deaths

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - The Florida Highway Patrol, criticized for reopening a highway early Sunday to traffic in low visibility that resulted ...

Tue, January 31, 2012

In Florida, a changing Latino mosaic reshapes politics

By Kevin Gray

MIAMI (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidates courting Florida's influential Latino vote have hit the campaign trail lambasting Cuba's Fidel Castro ...

Mon, January 30, 2012

Florida highway crash report details scary scene

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A new report on the Florida highway pileup on Sunday that killed 10 people describes a frightening scene ...

Sun, January 29, 2012

Florida highway reopens after deadly pileup

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida highway near Gainesville reopened on Monday, more than 30 hours after a horrific pileup that left ten people dead ...

Sun, January 29, 2012

Economy more worrying than Mideast for Florida Jews

By Patricia Zengerle

AVENTURA, Florida (Reuters) - Newt Gingrich describes the Palestinians as an invented people and seeks covert action against Iran, while Mitt Romney ...

Sat, January 28, 2012

Romney leads by 15 points in Florida: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House hopeful Mitt Romney's lead over rival Newt Gingrich has stretched to 15 percentage points in Florida ...

Fri, January 27, 2012

Two Florida Republicans say time to temper immigration rhetoric

By Kevin Gray

MIAMI (Reuters) - Two prominent Florida Republicans urged their party to tone down its rhetoric on illegal immigration or risk driving away ...

Fri, January 27, 2012

Romney, in comeback, has narrow Maine caucus win

By Ros Krasny

PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney grabbed back some momentum after midweek losses in three states, scoring a narrow ...

Fri, January 27, 2012

Republican Santorum heads home as he lags in Florida

By Terry Wade

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Trailing in opinion polls, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum headed home to Pennsylvania on Friday for a short ...

Fri, January 27, 2012

Romney holds 8-percentage point lead in Florida

By Andy Sullivan

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has opened up a lead of 8 percentage points over rival Newt Gingrich in ...

Fri, January 27, 2012

In retiree-heavy Florida, health reform not a popular topic

By Andy Sullivan

PALM HARBOR, Florida (Reuters) - There's one small-government idea that Republican presidential candidates are reluctant to discuss in this retiree-heavy state ...

Fri, January 27, 2012

Much heat, little light on housing in Florida debate

By Andy Sullivan

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Republicans presidential candidates have taken a hands-off policy on the U.S. housing crisis. At a debate on ...

Thu, January 26, 2012

Romney puts Gingrich on defensive in Florida debate

By Steve Holland and Ros Krasny

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took the fight to chief rival Newt Gingrich on Thursday ...

Thu, January 26, 2012

Florida's Rubio a star, but an unlikely VP pick

By David Adams

MIAMI (Reuters) - He could be the Republican vice presidential candidate from central casting: telegenic, Hispanic and a fiscal conservative who has ...

Thu, January 26, 2012

Florida's Rubio a star, but an unlikely VP pick

By David Adams

MIAMI (Reuters) - He could be the Republican vice presidential candidate from central casting: telegenic, Hispanic and a fiscal conservative who has ...

Tue, January 24, 2012

In Florida, Gingrich harnesses anger of the right

By Sam Youngman

CORAL SPRINGS, Florida (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was laughing.

Not a politician's polite chuckle but a real laugh ...

Mon, January 23, 2012

Four Florida college students expelled over hazing

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Four members of the Florida A&M University marching band were expelled on Monday for hazing, the latest ...

Sun, January 22, 2012

Analysis: Romney damaged, but has edge heading to Florida

By John Whitesides

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's expected romp to the Republican presidential nomination turned into a long and hard slog on Saturday ...

Thu, January 19, 2012

Rocket with military satellite launches from Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An unmanned heavy-lift Delta 4 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday to put a high-speed ...

Thu, January 19, 2012

Fading Gingrich behind in new poll, hits Romney in ad

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Newt Gingrich struggled to regain momentum in the race for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination on Friday as ...

Tue, January 17, 2012

Florida's Rexall recalls vitamins over shellfish fears

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Florida drugstore chain Rexall Inc is recalling softgel vitamins because their mislabeled bottles contain tablets made from crustacean shells, a potential allergen ...

Tue, January 17, 2012

Florida's Rexall recalls vitamins over shellfish fears

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Florida drugstore chain Rexall Inc is recalling softgel vitamins because their mislabeled bottles contain tablets made from crustacean shells, a potential allergen ...

Thu, January 12, 2012

Romney pledges in Florida to stand by Israel

By Jane Sutton

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney criticized President Barack Obama for his stance on Israel on Thursday ...

Mon, January 09, 2012

Florida gambling bill clears legislative test

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A bill that would open the door to a multibillion-dollar expansion of Florida's gambling industry cleared its ...

Mon, January 09, 2012

Muslim man charged in attempted Florida car bombing

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A 25-year-old Muslim man born in Kosovo was charged on Monday with trying to obtain explosives and firearms ...

Mon, January 09, 2012

Muslim man charged in attempted Florida car bombing

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A 25-year-old Muslim man born in Kosovo was charged on Monday with trying to obtain explosives and firearms ...

Mon, January 09, 2012

Muslim man arrested in Florida trying to obtain explosives

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A 25-year-old Muslim man born in Kosovo was charged on Monday with trying to obtain explosives and firearms ...

Thu, January 05, 2012

Man arrested for fire at Florida abortion clinic

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida officials have arrested an Alabama man in connection with the New Year's Day torching of a ...

Thu, January 05, 2012

Man arrested for fire at Florida abortion clinic

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida officials have arrested an Alabama man in connection with the New Year's Day torching of a ...

Thu, January 05, 2012

Cold hurts Florida citrus for second night running

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida citrus growers reported damage from subfreezing temperatures to some orange groves for the second consecutive day on Thursday after overnight temperatures ...

Wed, January 04, 2012

Cold snap hits Florida's citrus belt

By Tom Brown

MIAMI (Reuters) - Sub-freezing temperatures hit parts of Florida's citrus belt on Tuesday night, heating up the orange juice futures market ...

Tue, January 03, 2012

Florida college plan to stop hazing called a stunt

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A Florida college's new plan to appoint a blue ribbon committee to decide how to stop hazing ...

Tue, January 03, 2012

Link sought between Maryland abortion case, Florida clinic

By Jason Tomassini

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Florida officials on Wednesday were investigating any potential links between a fire at a Pensacola abortion clinic and a ...

Tue, January 03, 2012

Florida college adopts crisis plan after hazing death

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Trustees of a Florida college under investigation over the November hazing death of a drum major in its ...

Fri, December 30, 2011

Rangers' fast start guides them to 4-1 win over Florida

(Reuters) - The New York Rangers started quickly with three goals in the first period that helped them to a comfortable 4-1 victory over the ...

Wed, December 28, 2011

Weissmuller's "Tarzan" chimp sidekick dies in Florida

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cheetah the Chimp, co-star of the 1930s "Tarzan" films with Johnny Weissmuller and one of the world's oldest chimpanzees, has ...

Mon, December 26, 2011

Three dead when helicopter on organ trip crashes in Florida

(Reuters) - Two Mayo Clinic employees and a pilot died on Monday when their helicopter crashed in Florida on a flight to pick up an ...

Fri, December 23, 2011

Ex-players sue league in Florida over concussions

(Reuters) - Nearly two dozen former professional football players have sued the National Football League in Miami, the latest in a string of lawsuits brought ...

Wed, December 21, 2011

Florida town seeks nudist vacationers from Europe

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A west Florida community is spending $3,800 in tax dollars to entice naked Germans to spend their summer vacations there ...

Mon, December 19, 2011

Florida A&M president to keep his job amid hazing probe

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Florida A&M University trustees said on Monday that the school's president will keep his job during ...

Sun, December 18, 2011

Diamond ring dropped in Salvation Army kettle in Florida

(Reuters) - Talk about ringing in the holidays.

An anonymous donor dropped a diamond-and-sapphire ring worth $2,000 into a Salvation Army kettle in suburban ...

Fri, December 16, 2011

Florida A&M drum major death ruled a homicide

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A medical examiner has ruled the death of a Florida A&M University drum major a homicide by blunt force trauma sustained during a hazing incident, according to a news release on Friday.

Robert Champion, 26, died after a performance by the school's internationally renowned band at the annual Florida Classic in Orlando on November 19.

Champion, a music major from Atlanta who served as one of six drum majors for the historically black college's 375-member Marching "100" band, vomited and complained that he could not breathe on a band bus after the game.

Law enforcement officials had said they suspected hazing was involved but until now the medical examiner's office had not issued a cause of death.

The medical examiner's report states Champion collapsed and died within an hour of a hazing incident. His body showed signs of multiple blows to his chest, arms, shoulders and back, as well as extensive internal bleeding.

"Immediately after the hazing incident, he complained of thirst and fatigue; minutes later, he noted loss of vision ...

Thu, December 15, 2011

Florida combines units to fight online sex crimes

By Ileana Morales

TAMPA, Fla (Reuters) - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Attorney General's office said on Thursday that the ...

Thu, December 15, 2011

Florida's Scott wants college head suspended in hazing scandal

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott on Thursday called on Florida A&M University's board to suspend President James ...

Wed, December 14, 2011

Authorities open fraud probe at Florida A&M University

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Already probing the apparent hazing-related death of a Florida A&M University drum major, Florida's top law ...

Tue, December 13, 2011

Alleged Florida A&M hazing broke band member's leg

By Barbara Liston

(Reuters) - Three Florida A&M University marching band members were in jail early on Tuesday after being charged in a hazing-related ...

Thu, December 08, 2011

Florida A&M president reprimanded after hazing death

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Florida A&M University's board of trustees publicly reprimanded the school's president on Thursday over his ...

Wed, December 07, 2011

"Daily Show" pulls stunt on Florida governor

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott, who supports drug testing for state employees and welfare applicants, was asked on Wednesday to prove he ...

Wed, December 07, 2011

"Reporter" asks Florida governor for urine sample

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott, who supports drug testing for state employees and welfare applicants, was asked at a news conference on ...

Tue, December 06, 2011

Florida jury convicts 6 over Eastern European prostitution ring

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A federal jury in Orlando convicted six people on conspiracy charges on Tuesday linked to what prosecutors called ...

Tue, December 06, 2011

Florida whittles $500 million off debt load

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - Belt tightening, gubernatorial vetoes and reduced tax collections prompted a $500 million dip in Florida's $27.7 billion ...

Fri, December 02, 2011

Apparent hazing death will prompt reforms - Florida governor

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott on Friday vowed an investigation will discover the truth about the apparent hazing death ...

Tue, November 29, 2011

CVS will not fill some prescriptions for potent drugs in Florida

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - CVS has told some doctors in Florida, the nation's pill mill capital, that its retail pharmacies will ...

Mon, November 28, 2011

Parents say to sue after Florida band drum major dies

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - The parents of the Florida A&M University drum major who died after suspected hazing said on Monday they will file a lawsuit against the school to stop what they say is a violent initiation rite.

"This is not going to go away like other incidents," said the family's attorney, Christopher Chestnut. "The culture of hazing within the FAMU band has got to be eradicated."

Robert Champion, 26, died November 19 after being rushed to a hospital following a performance by the internationally renowned FAMU Marching "100" band at the annual Florida Classic football game against Bethune-Cookman University in Orlando.

Champion, a music major from Atlanta who served as one of six drum majors for the 375-member Marching "100" band, vomited and complained that he could not breathe in a band bus in the parking lot of a hotel after the game.

The medical examiner's office said a cause of death will not be known for about 10 weeks, but local law enforcement officials suspect that Champion died following a hazing incident aboard the bus.

"What's tragic is that this could happen to another kid," said Champion's father, Robert Champion Sr. "You go to school to become a productive citizen and pursue something you love to do. You don't expect this."

Pam Champion said her son was a laid-back, gentle young man who was involved in his church, and did community outreach. He tried to help new members adjust to life among the world-famous Marching "100," known for its high-stepping, high-energy dance routines. "He loved the band," she said.

Their attorney said the family hopes the lawsuit, which has not yet been filed, will shed light on a practice that they contend has been tolerated not just within the marching band or at FAMU, but at bands, fraternities and colleges across the country.

PAST PROBLEMS

Champion's death is the most recent hazing-related incident involving the Marching "100" and the university.

A band member won a $1.8 million verdict in a civil battery suit against five band members for a 2001 hazing incident in which he was beaten so badly his kidneys shut down. The student settled the suit out of court with FAMU for an undisclosed sum.

In 2006, a pair of FAMU fraternity students went to jail for a hazing incident that left the victim so bruised from paddling he required surgery.

A 2005 Florida law, passed after the death of a University of Miami student, bolstered penalties for hazing rituals that lead to great bodily harm or death.

After Champion's death, FAMU President James Ammons suspended the band's activities and fired director Julian White, who has led the band since 1998. Ammons created a task force to look into hazing at the historically black college.

White wants his job back and has hired Tallahassee lawyer Chuck Hobbs, who said the tenured FAMU professor has been made a scapegoat despite White's repeated efforts over the past 13 years to address hazing. Those efforts included a decision in November to suspend approximately 30 band members for hazing activities earlier this fall, Hobbs said.

"This is a knee-jerk reaction by the administration." Hobbs told Reuters on Monday. "It could be at least three months before the medical examiner's report is released...It is extremely premature to make this decision."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death. Last week, Governor Rick Scott also ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an investigation "to assure that the circumstances leading to Mr. Champion's death become fully known, and that if there are individuals directly or indirectly responsible for this death, they are appropriately brought to justice and held accountable."

(Additional reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)

Wed, November 23, 2011

Three plead guilty in Florida toilet paper fraud

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida scam artists told elderly victims the government had changed the laws regulating toilet paper and that their septic tanks would be ...

Tue, November 22, 2011

Florida officials probe hazing after drum major's death

By Barbara Liston and Michael Peltier

ORLANDO/TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Hazing may have been a factor in the death of a Florida college drum ...

Wed, November 16, 2011

Florida court orders Lindsay Lohan's father to treatment

TAMPA (Reuters) - Actress Lindsay Lohan's father Michael Lohan pleaded no contest on Wednesday to a domestic violence charge involving his former girlfriend and ...

Tue, November 15, 2011

Florida set to execute man for 1989 triple murder of tourists

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - A Florida inmate is set to be put to death on Tuesday for the 1989 murders of an ...

Mon, November 14, 2011

Merck settles Vioxx suits from New York, Florida

(Reuters) - Merck & Co has reached settlements to resolve lawsuits from the states of New York, Florida and South Carolina alleging the company misled state ...

Wed, November 09, 2011

CNN: Upton of Michigan, Stearns of Florida letter to White House point out contradiction on Solyndra

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WKZO) -- CNN is reporting via their political section that White House critics on Solyndra are saying there are e-mails that contradict ...

Fri, October 14, 2011

Florida man charged with hacking celebrities

Reports allege Cheney hacked into more than 50 email accounts and hijacked forwarding features, so he would be able to get copies of anything ...

Thu, October 13, 2011

Male nurse accused of sex assaults at Florida hospital

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A 49-year-old male nurse sexually assaulted two patients at the same Florida hospital emergency room where a teenager ...

Wed, October 12, 2011

Small plane crashes on Florida Turnpike

MIAMI (Reuters) - A small plane crashed onto Florida's Turnpike on Wednesday as it approached a municipal airport in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of ...

Mon, October 10, 2011

Florida funeral home offers eco-friendly cremations

By Ben Gruber

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida funeral home is offering a new alternative to traditional cremations and burials, selling what it ...

Mon, October 10, 2011

Florida's Key West authorized to offer Cuba flights

By Michael Haskins

KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - Key West is the latest U.S. city to receive permission from federal authorities to offer flights ...

Mon, October 10, 2011

One dead, seven rescued in Florida after boat capsizes

MIAMI (Reuters) - An 80-year-old woman was missing and feared drowned and seven other people were rescued after their pleasure boat capsized and sank in ...

Fri, October 07, 2011

Retiring Baby Boomers give Florida a cold shoulder

By Michael Connor

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida just isn't what it used to be for retirees.

Meet Patti Keagy, an American Baby Boomer, who ...

Fri, October 07, 2011

Cuban spy free from Florida jail but must stay in U.S.

By Michael Peltier

MARIANNA, Fla (Reuters) - A Cuban agent jailed for spying on Cuban exiles in Florida was freed from a U.S. prison ...

Wed, October 05, 2011

Florida's Rubio says "probably" not Republican VP

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Marco Rubio, a rising Republican star from Florida who is considered a top candidate to be his party ...

Fri, September 30, 2011

"Rogue" Florida moves up presidential primary

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida defied national Republican Party leaders on Friday and set its U.S. presidential primary election for January ...

Thu, September 29, 2011

Four early primary states threaten to leap frog Florida date

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Four states voting early in 2012 to choose the Republican presidential nominee threatened on Thursday to leap ...

Wed, September 28, 2011

Florida executes man for 1978 police killing

(Adds new details and updates with execution carried out

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Florida on Wednesday executed a man convicted of killing ...

Wed, September 28, 2011

Guillen promises to energize slumping Marlins

By Simon Evans

MIAMI (Reuters) - The Florida Marlins named former Chicago White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen as their new manager on Wednesday, hoping he ...

Wed, September 28, 2011

Florida to set presidential primary for January 31

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida is expected to set its U.S. presidential primary election for January 31, setting off a game of ...

Wed, September 28, 2011

Florida set to execute man for 1978 police killing

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - A man convicted of killing a Coral Gables police officer in 1978 is scheduled to die on Wednesday ...

Tue, September 27, 2011

Suspended Florida immigration enforcement chief arrested

MIAMI (Reuters) - The suspended chief of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Miami was arrested on Tuesday, according to jail ...

Tue, September 27, 2011

Federal agents raid Imperial Holdings' Florida offices

By Ben Berkowitz and Clare Baldwin

(Reuters) - Federal investigators on Tuesday raided the Florida offices of Imperial Holdings Inc , a company that makes lump-sum ...

Sun, September 25, 2011

U.S. swimmer Nyad ending Cuba-Florida crossing- team

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad has decided to end later on Sunday an attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida after ...

Sat, September 24, 2011

Cain upsets Perry in Florida Republican straw poll

By Jane Sutton and Steve Holland

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Former pizza executive Herman Cain surprised rival Rick Perry with an upset victory on Saturday ...

Sat, September 24, 2011

Millionaire convicted of killing wife in Florida mansion

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A Florida jury convicted millionaire Bob Ward of second degree murder on Saturday in the 2009 shooting death ...

Fri, September 23, 2011

U.S. swimmer Nyad ending Cuba-Florida crossing

By Michael Connor

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad decided on Sunday to abandon her third attempt to swim from Cuba to ...

Fri, September 23, 2011

Veteran U.S. swimmer to try Cuba-Florida trek again

By Jeff Franks

HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad said she would try again on Friday to become the first person to ...

Thu, September 22, 2011

Quotes from Republican candidates' Florida debate

(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidates met on Thursday in Orlando, Florida, in the latest of a series of debates about who should be the nominee ...

Thu, September 22, 2011

Perry has small lead over Romney in Florida: poll

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry leads rival Mitt Romney in Florida, where the Republican presidential candidates gathered on Thursday for another debate ...

Wed, September 21, 2011

Cain upsets Perry in Florida Republican straw poll

By Jane Sutton and Steve Holland

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Former pizza executive Herman Cain surprised rival Rick Perry with an upset victory on Saturday ...

Wed, September 21, 2011

Perry tempers Social Security rhetoric in Florida

By Jane Sutton

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry sounded a more temperate note on Social Security on Thursday as he greeted ...

Mon, September 19, 2011

Florida man accused of shooting wife, pastors had killed before

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A Florida man accused of killing his wife and then critically injuring two Christian clergy in a weekend church shooting had ...

Mon, September 19, 2011

Florida lawmakers ponder new laws after Casey Anthony verdict

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - In response to the jury acquittal of Casey Anthony in her 2-year-old daughter's death, Florida lawmakers convened ...

Sun, September 18, 2011

Gunman wounds two clergymen at Florida church

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A man marched into a Florida church on Sunday during a prayer service and shot and wounded two clergymen after first ...

Thu, September 15, 2011

FBI arrests Florida man over L.A. art scam

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former art dealer was arrested in Florida on Thursday on accusations he sold a Los Angeles collector ...

Thu, September 15, 2011

Judge blocks Florida law gagging doctors' gun talk

By Tom Brown

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Florida law limiting what doctors can say about guns to ...

Wed, September 14, 2011

Judge blocks Florida law gagging doctors' gun talk

By Tom Brown

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Florida law limiting what doctors can say about guns to ...

Mon, September 12, 2011

Social Security concerns unnerve Florida seniors

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida seniors were so rattled by proposed changes to Social Security emerging in the U.S. political debate that ...

Mon, September 12, 2011

Factbox: Four keys to Republican debate in Florida

(Reuters) - Eight Republican presidential hopefuls will meet on Monday in a debate co-sponsored by CNN and the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement, which helped ...

Sat, September 10, 2011

Two killed, 22 injured in shooting at Florida nightclub

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - At least two gunmen armed with possible semi-automatic weapons opened fire outside a Florida nightclub early Saturday morning ...

Fri, September 09, 2011

Florida woman bites elderly man in "vampire" attack

By Robert Green

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida woman who allegedly claimed to be a vampire has been charged with battery after violently ...

Wed, September 07, 2011

ACLU sues over Florida drug tests for aid applicants

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A new Florida law that requires low-income parents to pass drug tests before receiving public aid constitutes an ...

Fri, September 02, 2011

Florida seeks to recoup $517,000 from Casey Anthony

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A lawyer for Casey Anthony, the young mother acquitted of killing her toddler, accused prosecutors on Friday of ...

Fri, September 02, 2011

Florida police nab teen posing as hospital doctor's aide

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Florida police have arrested a 17-year-old who impersonated a physician's assistant at a hospital for about two ...

Fri, September 02, 2011

Florida seeks to recoup $500,000 from Casey Anthony

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Florida authorities asked a judge on Friday to require Casey Anthony, the young mother acquitted of killing her ...

Wed, August 31, 2011

Repackaged Avastin caused eye infections in Florida

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Repackaged injections of the cancer drug Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, have caused a cluster of serious eye infections in the Miami ...

Wed, August 31, 2011

Repackaged Avastin caused eye infections in Florida

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Repackaged injections of the cancer drug Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, have caused a cluster of serious eye infections in the Miami ...

Tue, August 30, 2011

Florida lawmaker hands out belts under saggy pants ban

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A Florida lawmaker is welcoming students back to school by handing out 200 leather belts to help them ...

Thu, August 25, 2011

Casey Anthony reports for probation at secret Florida location

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Florida corrections officials on Thursday outlined the conditions of probation for Casey Anthony, the Orlando mother who went ...

Wed, August 24, 2011

Florida couple sentenced to prison in deadly python case

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A young Florida mother and her boyfriend were sentenced on Wednesday to 12 years each in prison on manslaughter charges stemming ...

Tue, August 23, 2011

Florida court rejects drug argument, clears way for execution

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the execution of a man convicted in the ...

Mon, August 22, 2011

Casey Anthony's lawyer says she has returned to Florida

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Casey Anthony, the young Orlando mother acquitted of killing her toddler, is back in Florida and ready to ...

Sun, August 21, 2011

Flood victims still in the dark, stuck in mud

By Scott Malone

LUDLOW, Vermont (Reuters) - Residents of several Northeast states approached the Labor Day holiday weekend mired in mud and stuck in the ...

Fri, August 19, 2011

Reynolds faces losing Florida mansion

The Smokey and the Bandit star owes almost $1.2 million (£730,000) in payments, dating back to last year (10), according to a ...

Thu, August 18, 2011

Reynolds faces losing Florida mansion

The Smokey and the Bandit star owes almost $1.2 million (£730,000) in payments, dating back to last year (10), according to a ...

Wed, August 17, 2011

Florida police foil bomb plot at Tampa school

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Florida police said on Wednesday they arrested a 17-year-old who had material to make pipe bombs at his home and had ...

Tue, August 16, 2011

Eight sent to hospital after SeaWorld lightning strike released

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Eight people who experienced a lightning strike on Tuesday at SeaWorld Orlando were examined and released from medical facilities by midnight ...

Tue, August 16, 2011

Actor Burt Reynolds faces foreclosure on Florida home

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Veteran actor Burt Reynolds is facing foreclosure on his longtime southeast Florida home, according to a lawsuit filed ...

Mon, August 15, 2011

Amoeba blamed for swimming death in Florida

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A dangerous amoeba that thrives in warm, freshwater bodies in the heat of summer caused the recent death ...

Fri, August 12, 2011

Casey Anthony told to return to Florida for probation

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A Florida judge on Friday ordered Casey Anthony, the young mother acquitted of murdering her toddler, to report ...

Fri, August 12, 2011

Judge says Casey Anthony must return to Florida for probation

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - A judge ruled on Friday that Casey Anthony, the young mother acquitted of murdering her toddler, must be in Florida by ...

Wed, August 10, 2011

Florida gator farmers shed crocodile tears over loss of money

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - A tough economy and a governor's campaign promise have Florida alligator farmers shedding more than crocodile tears ...

Tue, August 09, 2011

Florida fugitive siblings caught in Colorado

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - Three fugitive siblings wanted in connection with crimes in Florida and Georgia last week were taken into custody in ...

Tue, August 09, 2011

One dead, two injured in Florida store

MIAMI (Reuters) - A store clerk died of gunshot wounds in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, following a standoff between police and an armed man who ...

Tue, August 09, 2011

Three hurt in Florida check cashing store standoff

MIAMI (Reuters) - A standoff between police and a man who attempted to rob a check cashing store in Fort Lauderdale ended on Tuesday after ...

Tue, August 09, 2011

Sea defeats body, not spirit, of swimmer, 61

By Michael Haskins

KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - An asthma attack, a painful shoulder and battering wind and waves forced 61-year-old swimmer Diana Nyad to ...

Mon, August 08, 2011

U.S. swimmer, 61, pushes toward Florida in record bid

By Pascal Fletcher

MIAMI (Reuters) - Shielded by an electrical field to ward off sharks, 61-year-old American swimmer Diana Nyad was pushing toward Florida Monday ...

Mon, August 08, 2011

American, 61, swims north in record Cuba-Florida bid

MIAMI (Reuters) - In calm seas, 61-year-old American swimmer Diana Nyad stroked north Monday into the Florida Straits in her bid to set a new ...

Wed, August 03, 2011

Injured sea turtle returned in sea off U.S. coast

By Manuel Rueda

JUNO BEACH, Fla (Reuters) - A plucky sea turtle has been released back into the wild off Florida's coast after months ...

Wed, July 27, 2011

Florida murderer caught 32 years after prison escape

By Colleen Jenkins

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - Authorities on Wednesday captured a man in Colorado who escaped nearly 32 years ago from the Florida ...

Wed, July 27, 2011

Florida policeman charged with drunken beach crash

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida policeman was arrested on Tuesday on charges of drunkenly crashing an all-terrain vehicle into a pair of beach-goers after a ...

Tue, July 26, 2011

Florida beach town woos New York's gay newlyweds

By Manuel Rueda

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tourism operators in Fort Lauderdale are hoping that New York's gay marriage law will bring new business to ...

Tue, July 26, 2011

No bail for Florida imam accused of aiding Taliban

MIAMI (Reuters) - A federal judge in Miami denied bail on Tuesday to a young Muslim cleric arrested in May on charges of financing and ...

Tue, July 26, 2011

Florida execution stayed to allow hearing on drug concerns

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court temporarily halted on Monday the execution of a man convicted of killing a police officer and ...

Tue, July 19, 2011

Florida court upholds $30 million tobacco award

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a jury's order that the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co pay ...

Sun, July 17, 2011

Tropical storm could form near northern Bahamas

MIAMI (Reuters) - A tropical depression formed in the Atlantic Ocean near the northwest Bahamas on Sunday and forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane ...

Fri, July 15, 2011

Florida jail ends free underwear for inmates to cut costs

By Colleen Jenkins

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - A central Florida sheriff has announced a cost-saving measure that hits below the belt: no more free ...

Thu, July 14, 2011

Florida lawmaker wants to stop jurors from cashing in

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - After a juror in the Casey Anthony trial reportedly demanded thousands of dollars to sit for a news ...

Mon, July 11, 2011

Judge's ruling extends Mosaic's Florida mine woes

By Ernest Scheyder

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has extended an order keeping Mosaic Co from expanding a Florida phosphate mine, dealing yet ...

Sun, July 03, 2011

Florida divers find new treasure from famed wreck

By Michael Haskins

KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - Divers in the Florida Keys have recovered a large emerald ring and two silver spoons believed to ...

Fri, July 01, 2011

Florida state workers get pink slips, more cuts ahead

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - To patch a $4 billion budget hole, more than 1,600 Florida state government employees were laid off ...

Fri, July 01, 2011

Florida bridge agency misses bond payment, defaults

By Michael Connor

MIAMI (Reuters) - A public authority in Florida's Panhandle missed a $5 million bond payment due on Friday and is now ...

Fri, July 01, 2011

Florida bridge agency defaults, misses $5 million bond payment

By Michael Connor

MIAMI (Reuters) - A public authority in Florida's Panhandle missed a $5 million bond payment due on Friday and is now ...

Sat, June 25, 2011

Brian Campbell agrees to Florida Panthers trade

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Reuters) - The Florida Panthers completed a trade for defenseman Brian Campbell in exchange for left wing Rostislav Olesz late on Friday ...

Thu, June 23, 2011

New Mars rover arrives at Florida launch site

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, a nuclear-powered, car-sized rover designed to assess the planet ...

Wed, June 22, 2011

Florida Marlins snap 11-game losing streak

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida manager Jack McKeon got his first win since taking over as the Marlins ended a dreadful 11-games losing streak with a ...

Tue, June 21, 2011

Florida battles 400 wildfires, two firefighters die

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Florida's tough wildfire season has claimed the lives of two firefighters as the tinder-dry state on Tuesday ...

Fri, June 17, 2011

Florida Pastor to Protest in Dearborn Today

DEARBORN, MI (Metro Source) - Controversial Florida pastor Terry Jones plans to protest at the International Arab Festival in Dearborn today. Just last month, Jones ...

Thu, June 16, 2011

Former Florida Governor Bush Supporting Snyder's Education Reforms

LANSING, MI (Metro Source) - Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is backing education reforms put forth by Governor Rick Snyder. The brother of former President ...

Tue, June 14, 2011

Florida homeowners with tainted drywall get $55 million

By Tom Hals

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Hundreds of Florida homeowners suffering with tainted Chinese drywall will share $55 million in a deal that also ...

Tue, June 14, 2011

Record heat forecast for Texas and Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - Above-average temperatures were hitting across the southern United States on Tuesday, with drought-parched west Texas and north Florida bearing the ...

Thu, June 09, 2011

Slumping Florida Marlins fire hitting coach John Mallee

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) - The slumping Florida Marlins fired hitting coach John Mallee on Wednesday and handed Eduardo Perez the task of revitalizing their sputtering ...

Tue, June 07, 2011

Florida doctors defend right to discuss guns with patients

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of Florida physicians filed a federal lawsuit on Monday seeking to overturn a new state law that limits doctors ...

Sun, June 05, 2011

Madoff's underwear fetch $200 at Florida auction

MIAMI (Reuters) - Underpants belonging to Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff were among items sold during the weekend at an auction held under the auspices ...

Fri, June 03, 2011

New hurricane model will up Florida reinsurance costs

By Sarah Mortimer

LONDON (Reuters) - Florida regulators have approved a new hurricane risk model which is likely to drive reinsurance costs for insurance companies ...

Wed, June 01, 2011

Hundreds feel sting of jellyfish on Florida's east coast

By Colleen Jenkins

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - Thousands of jellyfish washed up on Florida's east coast over the Memorial holiday weekend, stinging swimmers ...

Tue, May 31, 2011

Blue Angels Return to Florida for Training Following Commanders Resignation (With Video)

BATTLE CREEK --  The Blue Angels were scheduled to headline in Battle Creek on the 4^th of July, but that may be in jeopardy ...

Fri, May 27, 2011

Police say patient killed doctor in murder-suicide

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Police in Florida were trying to determine a motive on Friday for a patient who fatally shot a transplant doctor before ...

Fri, May 27, 2011

Florida governor vetoes $615 million of spending

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed a record $615 million in spending as he pared an already austere $70 ...