PENSACOLA

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday morning is set to hold a news conference at a charter school in the Florida Panhandle.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday morning is set to hold a news conference with law enforcement officials from across Florida.

The opening round of the girls high school basketball playoffs are in the books and the area’s favorites held strong.

The Florida High School Athletic Association unveiled the girls basketball postseason bracket on Sunday and 21 local teams are dancing.

Cleanup efforts were beginning Friday morning after severe storms spawned tornadoes that left at least four dead, three in the Texas Panhandle and one in the Florida Panhandle as another series of fierce storms carved its way through Southern states.

The second round of the high school volleyball playoffs are set, while one area coaching legend is heading into retirement after an iconic career.

When a tropical storm or hurricane affects Florida, boat owners and operators have to worry about more than just their homes and families.

A restaurant customer in Fort Lauderdale has died of a bacterial infection after eating raw oysters.

A 1-year-old girl is dead and her 2-year-old sister injured after an 8-year-old boy accidentally shot them at a Florida motel.

Authorities in Florida say the chief of a volunteer fire department is accused of fatally shooting a business owner because the victim owed him money.

Four astronauts are back on Earth after a 200-day space station mission.

The deputy was struck in the leg and taken to a hospital for treatment on Tuesday night, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said during a news conference.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday makes stops in Jacksonville, Surfside and Pensacola, where he greeted first responders, presenting them with one-time relief checks.

A man was arrested Tuesday after he attempted to kidnap an 11-year-old girl at a bus stop in Pensacola, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

A Florida teen accused of rigging a homecoming queen election with her mother is being charged as an adult, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say a Florida teen accused of rigging a homecoming queen election with her mother is being charged as an adult.

NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for this weekend's splashdown by four astronauts.

An effort to overturn a 2020 vote in Key West that limited cruise ship operations is ready to go before the full Senate.

A homeless Army veteran is being called a hero for pulling the driver of a burning car to safety following a head-on crash in Florida’s Panhandle.

Glenn McDonald, then 41, steered his tugboat to the wreckage of a Boeing 727 and fished survivors out of Escambia Bay and onto the safety of a small barge towed behind his vessel.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state was not expected to receive any more of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for at least two to three weeks. But on Tuesday, DeSantis announced the state got an additional 42,000 doses of the latest vaccine to be widely available. DeSantis said the doses are set to be used around the state including at a new pop-up vaccination site at Zion Hope Primitive Baptist Church in Pensacola that will administer 2,000 doses. DeSantis said the Department of Emergency Management uses the one-dose J&J shot when it is knocking on people’s doors to offer the vaccine and for homebound seniors.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Florida man has been sentenced to 20 years and three months in prison for being high on drugs when he caused a crash that killed two siblings. Black was driving on a Cantonment road, just north of Pensacola, in January 2019, when he swerved into the oncoming lane and hit another car head-on, officials said. The other vehicle's driver, Antoinette McCoy, 22, and her brother, Sean Banks, 15, were seriously injured in the crash. The sister and brother were airlifted to a Pensacola hospital, where they died, officials said. An analysis of his blood sample, taken after the crash, revealed the presence of Xanax and cannabis in his system, prosecutors said.

Agents from the FBI office in Jacksonville on Wednesday arrested a Pensacola man accused of participating in the riot and assault on the U.S. Capitol earlier this month. According to the FBI, Jesus Rivera was taken into custody by special agents from the FBI Jacksonville Pensacola Resident Agency in coordination with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Rivera faces a long list of charges including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct on capitol buildings or grounds; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol buildings. “The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights, but we will not tolerate those who seek to incite violence or wreak havoc on our established institutions,” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “We will continue to hold accountable those who were responsible the violent actions at the U.S. Capitol, and coordinate with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure safety in all North Florida communities in the future.”Anyone with information about individuals who incited or promoted violence of any kind during the siege is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit photos and video to www.fbi.gov/USCapitol.

Ron DeSantis lowered the target age again Wednesday -- to 65. DeSantis said he said a sign-up procedure for the general public to get vaccines will be announced soon and that shots could be available as early as Monday of next week. About 4.4 million Florida residents are over the age of 65 and more than 3 million are over 70, DeSantis said. “These are probably the first members of the community who are senior citizens to be to be vaccinated, maybe anywhere in the country but certainly in Florida,” DeSantis said of the group. Last week, Florida received 179,400 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which was used for those groups.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Hurricane Sally commanded the Gulf of Mexico to rise last month. Exposed sandy areas give species nesting space and eliminate hiding spots for beach predators like raccoons and feral cats. Altogether, she estimated that Sally impacted 10 areas she monitors for Audubon Florida – and said she hopes these transformed areas host nesting sites come spring. “We’re not seeing improvements.”One federally listed and at least four state-listed shorebird species frequent Panhandle shorelines, Stahala said. For every flattened dune that creates ideal shorebird nesting areas, it destroys another animal’s habitat.

Meanwhile, in Lumberton, North Carolina, his tongue firmly in cheek, Trump called Biden “an inspiring guy" for raising alarm about the pandemic. “It's always cases, cases, cases. “You know why we have cases?” Trump asked. Biden in his stop in Luzerne reminded supporters that Trump had suggested the COVID-19 mortality rate was lower outside predominantly Democratic states. "As I said before, I will shut down the virus, not the economy," Biden said in Bucks County.

The Census Bureau is contending with several natural disasters as wildfires and hurricanes disrupt the final weeks of the nations once-a-decade headcount. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)ORLANDO, Fla. – Already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic and a tightened deadline, the Census Bureau must now contend with several natural disasters as wildfires and hurricanes disrupt the final weeks of the nation's once-a-decade headcount. A coalition of cities and civil rights groups are suing in federal court in San Jose, seeking an extra month. “This is not usually the time of the year that the Census Bureau is doing the counting." In some places where census takers cannot go out, they are trying to reach households by phone, according to Census Bureau officials.

The supercharged Atlantic hurricane season has produced so many named storms that scientists ran out of traditional names as Tropical Storm Wilfred developed in the eastern Atlantic. Two hours after Wilfred took shape, the National Hurricane Center moved to the Greek alphabet when Subtropical Storm Alpha formed just off the coast of Portugal. The same practice will govern storm names for the rest of hurricane season, which lasts until the end of November. The only other time the hurricane center dipped into the Greek alphabet was the deadly 2005 hurricane season, which included Hurricane Katrina's strike on New Orleans. With the dunes that provide some protection to the island gone, Thomas said people will be nervous for the rest of the storm season.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)PENSACOLA, Fla. – Rescuers on the Gulf Coast used boats and high-water vehicles Thursday to reach people cut off by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, even as a second round of flooding took shape along rivers and creeks swollen by the storm’s heavy rains. Crews carried out at least 400 rescues in Escambia County, Florida, by such means as high-water vehicles, boats and water scooters, authorities said. Also on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said a new tropical depression formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters said the depression could become a tropical storm as it moves slowly over the western Gulf during the next few days. Meanwhile, Hurricane Teddy strengthened to a powerful Category 4 storm in the Atlantic.

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake happened 11:07 am Thursday north of Pensacola just over the boarder in Alabama. The rattling was felt by 92 people who reported the impacts from near Mobile to Dothan, Alabama. Very light to light shaking was reported around Pensacola. The magnitude of this earthquake results in only very light to no damage.

Published: May 25, 2020, 7:00 am Updated: May 25, 2020, 8:33 amPENSACOLA, Fla. A Florida team is selling people the ultimate baseball experience by putting their oceanview stadium up for rent on AirBnB for $1,500 a night. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos says guests will have access to the clubhouse, a large bedroom, the batting cage and the field. And although the listing had no reviews, the stadium has been fully booked through July. The team said on a Facebook post that it was waiting to hear more on the schedule for the 2020 season from league officials before opening more dates for vacation rentals between July and October. The Minor League Baseball delayed the start of the 2020 season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

competitive video games, during the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. In Pensacola, video games have even briefly replaced some youth sports and recreation. Even when I was coming up, soccer and video games werent so mainstream online, said 27-year-old Parker McIntosh, Snap Soccers eGaming director. That interest was built largely through streaming platforms like Twitch, which allows players to watch or broadcast other people playing video games. The pandemic provided an opening for esports jump to mainstream cable and broadcast television.

PENSACOLA, Fla. A F-22 fighter plane crashed during a routine training flight Friday morning and the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft, Eglin Air Force Base officials said. The jet was part of the 325th Fighter Wing at the base, which is located east of Pensacola in Florida's Panhandle. It was about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northeast of the base when it crashed, the Air Force said in news release. The pilot has been taken to the 96th Medical Group hospital on the base for evaluation and observation, the release said. First responders from 96th Test Wing are on the scene, and an investigation is continuing.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Florida man could get a death sentence after being found guilty of using a claw hammer, knife and gun to kill his mother and half-brothers. His mother, Voncile Smith, 77, and two half-brothers, John Smith, 49, and Richard Smith, 47, were found dead in their home July 31, 2015. Marlin Purifoy, another inmate who testified in hopes of reducing his own sentence, testified that Hartung confessed to the killings while behind bars. Hartung told Purifoy that he "tortured his mother by cutting her pinkie in order to get safe combinations,” Jensen said. “How can Marlin Purifoy know that?

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The U.S. Navy says two Blue Angels jets touched midair during a practice run in the Florida Panhandle. Navy spokeswoman Lt. Michelle Tucker tells the Pensacola News Journal a jet made momentary contact with the underside of a second jet's outer wing Wednesday as the pilots practiced over the Naval Air Station Pensacola. The incident won't affect the team's performance in a Chicago air show over the weekend. But the two jets involved in the incident have been swapped out and won't fly in Chicago. However Tucker says the pilots of those jets will fly in the air show.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thanks to solid outings by right-handers Austin Brice, Tyler Higgins, Ryan Chaffee and Drew Steckenrider the Jacksonville Suns shutout the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 4-0 on Saturday nights. Brice (3-2) allowed five hits, a walk and a hit batter but stranded six Blue Wahoos in the first four innings and struck out six batters in 5 2/3 innings. Pensacola (25-18) did not have a hit against the Suns bullpen in the final 3 1/3 innings. Steckenrider walked two batters – the only Blue Wahoos to reach base against Suns relievers – but struck out two others to preserve the Suns’ third shutout win this season. Blue Wahoos right-hander Barrett Astin (3-1) began by walking Suns first baseman Brady Shoemaker and hitting right fielder Moises Sierra with a pitch.