โA gut punchโ: Father of TV reporter killed in Virginia reacts to Orlando shooting spree
As the country mourns the deaths of three people killed in a shooting spree near Orlando, including a TV news reporter, the father of another reporter killed on the job years back calls the violence โa gut punch.โ
White House criticizes Florida gun proposals in wake of deadly Central Florida shooting spree
In the wake of a deadly shooting spree that left a woman, a 9-year-old and a television reporter dead in Central Florida, the Biden administration is criticizing Florida lawmakers for working to relax state gun laws.
โTalented, electricโ 24-year-old journalist โhad a future,โ media colleagues say after deadly attack that also killed 9-year-old
Journalist Dylan Lyons was one of five people shot Wednesday in the attack that also killed a 9-year-old girl and left her mother and a photojournalist critically injured.
9-year-old girl, TV reporter fatally shot in Central Florida neighborhood, sheriff says
Three people are dead after shootings Wednesday, including a 9-year-old girl, and a television journalist who was in a Central Florida neighborhood reporting on a homicide that had occurred earlier in the day, according to Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
Florida scientists ask people to watch out for potentially invasive โJesus lizardโ that can run across water
Scientists from the University of Florida are asking people to be on the lookout for the brown basilisk, a nonnative lizard also known as the โJesus lizard,โ because the reptiles have the potential to become invasive in Florida.
Florida bride, caterer arrested after guests at wedding say food was laced with marijuana
Nearly two months after Seminole County first responders assisted multiple people who reported feeling weird, sick and stoned at a Central Florida wedding party in February, deputies this week arrested the bride and caterer for the event, WKMG reported.
Republicans roll forward on redistricting as lawmakers take up DeSantisโ congressional map
Gov. Ron DeSantisโ proposed congressional redistricting plan, lambasted by opponents because it likely would reduce the number of seats held by Black Democrats, quickly moved toward approval Tuesday as the Republican-dominated Legislature started a special session.
Barwick Banking Company: Grand Opening in St. Augustine | River City Live
Barwick Banking Company will be opening its doors for the first time in St. Augustine, Florida on Monday, July 12, 2021 at 1200 Plantation Island Drive, Suite 110, St. Augustine and in Daytona Beach, Florida during the 1st Quarter of 2022.
Good spring rains have ended
Happy Sunday! We are off to a stormy start with widespread heavy rainfall packed with lightning and small hail tracking east across NE FL this morning. This will be very inconvenient for any morning plans and could cause localized flooding on roadways. Itโs best to stay in and wait it out through the morning.
Florida jobless claims at pandemic low
The U.S. Department of Laborโs estimate for Florida for the week ending March 27 was down from a revised count of 17,349 for the week ending March 20. Last week marked the lowest total for the state since 74,313 claims were filed during the week ending March 21, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic crashed into the state. Florida had 6,463 claims during the week ending March 14, 2020. The January numbers peaked at 69,140 new claims during the week ending Jan. 30. Floridaโs jobless rate went from 4.8% in January to 4.7% in February, according to numbers released Friday by the state Department of Economic Opportunity.
Disappearing seagrass hurting beloved manatees in Florida
The situation is threatening a number of species, including manatees, who depend on seagrass for food. AdAn expert who has spent 40 years studying manatees in Central Florida said dead manatees are being found with nearly nothing in their stomachs. Essentially, itโs an emergency.โRose and others blame the seagrass loss for a spike in manatee deaths this winter. In all of 2020, there were 637 manatee deaths across Florida. The Indian River Lagoon system stretches 165 miles from Volusia County south to Port St. Lucie.
Florida jobless claims continue to drop
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)Continuing a trend, Florida last week posted its lowest total of first-time unemployment claims since the coronavirus pandemic exploded nearly a year ago. A similar revision upped the totals for the week ending Feb. 6, increasing the initial projection from 17,621 to 21,710. Nationally, the Department of Labor estimated 730,000 first-time unemployment claims were filed last week. The national estimate was a decrease of 111,000 from a revised estimate for the week ending Feb. 13. The national estimate for the week ending Feb. 13 had initially been 861,000.
Florida senator wants to expand scholarships for Ocoee massacre descendants
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ A state senator is seeking to expand a scholarship program set up more than 25 years ago because of a massacre in Rosewood to include people whose families were directly affected by the racially motivated 1920 Ocoee Election Day riot in Central Florida. Black residents were killed in the riot, and others fled the community as homes, churches and a fraternal lodge were destroyed. โIโm not under the illusion that people will think this is not enough,โ Bracy said. Last year, Bracy led a successful effort to require public-school students learn about the Ocoee riot, similar to a requirement for teaching about the Holocaust. AdWhen he initially proposed the 2020 legislation, Bracy sought $150,000 per Ocoee victim, a funding level modeled, in part, on a 1994 decision by the Legislature to compensate African-American families because of the Rosewood Massacre.
UCF hires former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn to lead Knights
FILE - Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn argues a call during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama in Auburn, Ala., in this Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, file photo. Central Florida hired Gus Malzahn as its football coach Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn. โI truly believe that this is a program of the future in college football,โ Malzahn said. Arkansas State won a conference title that season before Malzahn returned to Auburn as head coach. AdโThis is one of the top 25 coaching jobs in all of college football,โ Malzahn said.
60 airmen from 125th Fighter Wing to help with COVID-19 vaccination efforts
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Additional help is on the way to assist with COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Sixty additional airmen from Floridaโs Air National Guard were activated for duty Monday. Since March, more than 2,300 Florida National Guard members have helped in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty National Guard members have been stationed at the Regency Square Mall testing site since doses of the vaccine started being administered there. According to the 125th Fighter Wing, of the 60 airmen from the 125th Fighter Wing activated Monday, 40 will go out into communities and help with getting people signed up for vaccine appointments while the other 20 will replace the guardsmen currently at the Regency Square Mall.
NCAA probe is 'speed bump' to Vols' new coach Josh Heupel
New Tennessee NCAA college football head coach Josh Heupel, left, shakes hands with University of Tennessee athletics director Danny White after being presented a jersey speaks during an introductory press conference at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (Caitie McLekin/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP, Pool)Josh Heupel believes he can win quickly at Tennessee and position the football program for long-term success. Heupel was introduced Wednesday as the program's 27th head coach and fifth, not counting interim or acting coaches, since the end of the 2008 season. New athletic director Danny White said Tennessee ran an โexhaustive nationwide searchโ led by the same search firm that helped land White. White was hired last week to replace the retiring Phillip Fulmer and hiring a new coach was his first task.
No. 11 Houston uses big first half to cruise past UCF 75-58
11 Houston used a dominant first half to cruise to a 75-58 win over UCF on Sunday. Houston (11-1, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) won its fourth straight game since its loss to Tulsa. โIt was a great game for us,โ Houston guard DeJon Jarreau said. โThey made a lot of shots to start the first half off and kind of knocked us back,โ UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. Sampson passed former Houston coach Tom Penders.
Satellite captures holes in the sky
A cold front moves into north Florida with holes in high clouds over central Florida. Airplanes punched out holes in the central Florida cirrus clouds. Central Florida was treated to an interesting display on weather satellites as gaps opened up in the clouds known as โfallstreak holesโ or โhole-punch clouds.โThey can be seen quickly moving eastward on the GOES-16 satellite as circular holes in a canopy of cirrus clouds across central Florida. The hole forms from a process where water turns into ice forming a clear void in the cloud deck. Tracks from high altitude planes can also be seen marked by narrow lines pointing into the holes.
DeSantis: Nearly 350,000 Florida seniors have received COVID-19 vaccine
Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that nearly 350,000 seniors have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since mid-December. So, last week was really the first full week where everyone was back in the saddle,โ DeSantis said. โWe are remaining proactive so that when additional doses come, our infrastructure will be able to process it,โ DeSantis said. This means of the vaccines Florida has received, only 38% have been given. At his second press conference of the day in Niceville, DeSantis announced that it is expanding its vaccine partnership with Publix supermarkets.
CDC data show Florida has 1 million unused doses of vaccine
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ After learning that Florida has almost a million unused vaccine doses, News4Jax reached out to local health departments who are limiting appointments saying they canโt get enough Pfsizer or Moderna vaccine. This means of the vaccines Florida has received, only 38% have been given. In Central Florida, health departments said vaccines on โholdโ are put in storage, but are intended to be used. California received the most vaccines with more than 2 million doses available to the state. We are poised to mobilize the operation as soon we receive an additional allotment.โNews4Jax will update this story when we health back from other health departments.
Florida sets another record with 17,783 more COVID-19 cases
A health care worker administers a COVID-19 test at a site sponsored by Community Heath of South Florida in Homestead. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Florida set yet another record for newly confirmed coronavirus cases in data reported Wednesday by the Florida Department of Health. The 17,783 increase in cases brings the state to 1,409,906 since the pandemic began. Florida has reported more than 10,000 cases each of the last nine days, averaging 14,826 a day over the last week -- the highest week of increases since the pandemic reached Florida in March. As of 4:48 p.m. Wednesday, 7,303 people were hospitalized in Florida with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
Area Pop Warner teams look to finish off seasons with championships
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ The coronavirus did its best to knock the Pop Warner football season off track, but two area teams are still going strong in December. The Forestview Outlaws mitey mites are playing in the semifinals for the second time since 2015. The Westside Wildcats junior peewees are looking to bolster a growing national profile with another trip into the final four. The national championship, typically held at Disneyโs Wide World of Sports compound, was canceled due to COVID-19, with only the national cheerleading competition going forward. โTo these kids, they are champions regardless of COVID-19 [changing things],โ said Shawn Fountain, head coach of the Westside Wildcats.
DeSantis wants feds to OK jobless aid, ease travel limits
Ron DeSantis wants Congress to approve more unemployment relief and for the federal government to ease coronavirus travel restrictions from Europe and Brazil. Hopefully theyโll do it over the next month or two.โDeSantis also repeated a call from October for the federal government to ease some international travel restrictions. We did some stuff (travel restrictions) with New York because they were spreading it around the country. SeaWorld and Universal Orlando reopened in mid-June, while Disney reopened its Florida parks in July, with each of the parks having capacity limits. When DeSantis first called for easing travel restrictions, he pointed to advances in rapid testing for COVID-19 and airline cleaning protocols.
Disney donates wishing well coins to homeless charity
ORLANDO, Fla. โ Some $20,000 in coins that tourists tossed into Walt Disney Worldโs wishing wells and fountains became a Thanksgiving gift for central Floridaโs largest homeless shelter. Disney periodically collects, cleans and sorts the coins before donating the total to a Central Florida charity, the newspaper reported. With the regionโs homeless population rising, the company decided to give the money to the Coalition for the Homeless, Walt Disney Worldโs director of external affairs Tajiana Ancora-Brown told the newspaper. In addition, Disneyโs chefs cooked up a Thanksgiving feast for 650 coalition residents and other homeless guests. For James OโDonnell, executive chef of Disneyโs Hollywood Studios โ and the lead chef for the Thanksgiving feast โ the effort is a first.