TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s state Board of Education banned “critical race theory” from public school classrooms Thursday, adopting new rules it said would shield schoolchildren from curricula that could “distort historical events.” Florida’s move was widely expected as a national debate intensifies about how race should be used as a lens in classrooms to examine the country’s tumultuous history, The Associated Press reports. Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared by video at the top of the board’s meeting, urging its members, many of whom he appointed, to adopt the new measures he asserted would...
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The body of a missing Hillsborough County woman in her 30s was found burning in the woods near the Sunshine Skyway bridge Wednesday night. Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office did not release the woman’s name due to Marsy’s Law, however, they confirmed the victim is connected to a missing person case, NBC affiliate WFLA reports. “It’s unclear at this time when the murder occurred or why it may have occurred so we’re asking all of you to help get this message out,” said Crystal Clark, an HCSO spokesperson. Deputies said the woman worked as a security...
ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. — Three people with gunshot wounds were found dead inside a Publix Supermarket in Royal Palm Beach, officials said. Deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the shooting that left one adult male, one adult female, and one child dead inside the Publix in the 1100 block of Royal Palm Beach Boulevard. The shooter is one of the dead. Law Enforcement arrived at the scene of the shooting around 11:39 a.m. on Thursday. Detectives from the Violent Crimes Division is currently on scene and investigating the shooting. Information about...
FLORIDA – After months of helping people file for unemployment, more than 1,000 call takers are now in the unemployment line unable to collect. “It’s kind of frustrating for all of us because we were there for everybody making sure they got their extra $600 and $300 every week and now the governor has ended that relief for everybody and laid off all of us,” explained an anonymous call taker. Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity is the agency that hands out the money and the federal unemployment runs out in three weeks. However many people collecting believe...
FLORIDA – Titan Technologies confirmed Tuesday the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has canceled its contract with the company. Titan Technologies, a call center company, was hired by the DEO to help people with their unemployment claims. Those still having a difficult time collecting unemployment may now have an even harder time as the company employed 5,000 people as temporary agents to help Floridians get their unemployment issues resolved. In a statement to NBC2, Titan Technologies said it was disappointed with the state’s decision to use government employees....
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – A woman was bitten by an alligator while walking her dog in a Pinellas County neighborhood Tuesday afternoon. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), a 43-year old woman was walking her dog along a small lake at Exeter Court and S Cardinal Drive in Palm Harbor when the incident happened. The woman was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries to her lower right leg, FWC said. A contracted nuisance alligator trapper was sent to the scene. FWC is continuing to investigate. Officials with FWC said serious injuries caused...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A man’s prosthetic leg was stolen after he was hit by a car in St. Petersburg on Monday. The leg has since been located. A tip was called in to the St. Petersburg police with information on where to find the prosthetic. Officers found the leg hidden behind a laundromat. It was returned to Christopher Allen Harris’ family. Harris, 49, was crossing 5th Avenue N in the crosswalk when he was hit by a car. The impact of the crash caused Harris’ prosthetic leg to dislodge and hit another car that was driving eastbound on 5th Avenue N. Before officers...
Less than 24 hours after Commissioner of Agriculture Democrat Nikki Fried filed to run for governor, a Republican senator wants to dig into her finances. That senator is chairman of the Republican Party Joe Gruters. He claims Fried earned far more than she first reported. He’s asking Naples Republican Senator Kathleen Passidomo-Dist. 28, who chairs the state rules committee to investigate further. “The complaint alleges that she improperly took or didn’t report funds from her lobbying firm,” Passidomo said. The letter from Gruters said Fried’s first report in 2018...
NBC News — Florida’s manatees are dying at unusually high rates this year, and experts said the sustained loss of a key food source is to blame. Every year Florida Fish and Wildlife Officers put out a report showing how many Manatees died, and how they were killed. FWC’s most recent report, which spans Jan. 1 to May 28, recorded 761 manatee deaths in 2021. Researchers are concerned that the current death rate could surpass the record 804 manatee deaths recorded in 2018. “If this continues through the rest of the year, this is going to be one of the highest...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday a pair of bills focused on “nefarious foreign influence and corporate espionage” — particularly singling out China, which he accused of stealing intellectual property and infiltrating broad sectors of American society, especially academia. “There is no single entity that exercises a more pervasive nefarious influence across a wide range of American industries and institutions than the Communist Party of China,” DeSantis said during a news conference in Miami. The Republican governor, who has sought to seize the national...