In Florida, preliminary state statistics show more than 133,840 loggerhead turtle nests, breaking a record set in 2016. Same for green turtles, where the estimate of at least 76,500 nests is well above the previous mark set in 2017.

High sea turtle nest numbers also have been reported in South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia, although not all set records like Florida, where Justin Perrault, vice president of research at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, said the number of nests is remarkable this year.

“We had more nests than we had ever seen before on our local beaches,” said Perrault, whose organization monitors Palm Beach County and broke a local record by 4,000 nests. “That’s quite a bit of nesting.”

There are seven species of sea turtles: loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley and flatback. All are considered either endangered or threatened. They come ashore on summer nights, digging pits in the sand and depositing dozens of eggs before covering them up and returning to the sea. Florida beaches are one of the most important hatcheries for loggerheads in the world.

Only about one in 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings live to adulthood. They face myriad natural threats, including predators on land and in the ocean, disruptions to nests and failure to make it to the water after hatching. This year along one stretch of Florida’s Gulf Coast where 75 nests had been counted, most were wiped out by the surge from Hurricane Idalia in August.

“Unfortunately, the nests pre-Idalia were almost all lost due to the high tides and flooding on our barrier islands,” said Carly Oakley, senior turtle conservation biologist at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Female turtles generally lay eggs in a three-year cycle, leading to up-and-down years of nests, she said. “The nesting process is very exhausting and, in this break, females regain the energy to do the process again,” Oakley said.

Climate change has added to those challenges, reducing beaches as sea levels rise and causing more powerful tropical storms. Hotter air, water and sand and changes in the ocean currents turtles use to migrate also lower the odds of surviving, according to Oceana, an international conservation group.

Sand temperatures play a major role in determining sea turtle sex. In general, warmer temperatures produce more female turtles, and sand temperatures are projected to increase dramatically around the world by 2100, according to researchers at Florida State University.

“So the warmer the nest is, the more likely that nest is to produce females,” Perrault said. “Additionally, hatchlings that come out of warmer nests are much smaller and often slower.”

A study led by FSU professor Mariana Fuentes that was published recently in the Global Change Biology journal found sea turtles will have to nest much later or much earlier than they currently do to cope with changing environmental conditions.

Even that may not be enough for every species, said Fuentes, who works in FSU’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. Turtles have adapted to altered climates over millions of years, but today’s rapid changes could happen too quickly for them to evolve, she said.

“We have found that even if they do change the timing of their nesting, that’s not going to be sufficient to maintain the temperatures of current nesting grounds,” Fuentes said.

Sea turtle mothers already have to lumber out of the water to find a good spot to nest, which can be difficult in areas where humans have built seawalls. Some female turtles make several attempts, known as false crawls, before finding a suitable location.

Racoons, coyotes and other predators raid the nests and hatchlings, once they dig their way out, have to crawl to the sea before being snatched up by birds and other animals. Electric lights can disorient them, causing turtles to head the wrong way on the beach instead of following light from the moon and stars. And when the lucky ones finally start swimming, hungry fish await.

Michelle Pate, biologist at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said tens of thousands of hatchlings don’t make it to the water, even as nest numbers trend higher across much of the Southeast.

“If we can’t get hatchlings to emerge and make it to the ocean, then an increase in nest numbers doesn’t help,” she said.

The increase in turtle nests this year conceals an ominous future for the animals, Perrault said.

“Yes, we’re seeing record numbers, but our hatchling production may not be that great,” he said. “And so in the future, 20 to 30 years from now, and these things come back to nest, we may not be seeing these record numbers that we’re seeing now.”

The latest map from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows high levels of hospital visits for respiratory illness in Florida, as of Nov. 11.

“We do seem to be kind of a hot spot and that’s pretty typical of what we’ll generally see,” said Thomas Unnasch, Emeritus distinguished professor at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health. “It just has a lot to do with socialization and how much contact people are having with each other.”

So far this fall, the CDC estimates that there’s been at least 780,000 flu cases.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus is also a concern. As for Covid-19 cases, they seem to be slowing down.

“The numbers are really starting to increase,” Unnasch said. “At least doubling over the last four weeks or so here in the state of Florida. On the other hand, Covid seems to be just puttering along. So we may be in a situation this year where we’ll mostly see, you know, RSV and influenza as a problem and not so much Covid.”

According to the CDC, it’s not yet clear how effective the current flu vaccines are, but doctors say it’s one of the best ways to minimize the chances of being hospitalized.

“I will wear masks and I carry hand sanitizer around and try and keep my hands away from my face and do the best I can, and that’s basically the best thing that you can do,” he said. “Wash your hands a lot and try not to breathe other people’s air as much as possible.”

According to the latest data, about 35% of adults and 33% of children in the U.S. have been vaccinated against the flu virus.

Lee Charles Quinn faces charges of battery, threatening a law enforcement officer, attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call in the 3800 block of the Overseas Highway in Marathon around 7:50 p.m. regarding an assault. Quinn, identified as the suspect, was located on 36th Street.

During the arrest, Quinn reportedly threatened multiple deputies with death and made an attempt to grab and pull at the holstered service firearm of one deputy. He was unsuccessful in obtaining the weapon.

As he was being taken into custody, Quinn reportedly resisted arrest by stiffening his body, pulling away from deputies and kicking the doors of a patrol vehicle while en route to the jail.

No significant injuries were reported in connection with the incident.

According to authorities, Stacy Usher, wanted for violation of probation related to the sale of fentanyl and unlawful use of a two-way communication device, attempted to evade arrest by hiding in her residence.

Deputies discovered her concealed in a couch during their apprehension.

Hallin was last seen at a Publix in Doral, wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, dark pants, a black hat and glasses. According to the MCSO, his family has not had any contact with him since the night of Nov. 14.

His vehicle was reportedly discovered in the 4500 Block of Old US 41 North in Palmetto, about 230 miles away from Doral.

Family members informed authorities that he drove from the Miami area to Manatee County for business on Nov. 14.

Hallin stands at 6 feet, 3 inches, weighs 210 pounds and has blonde hair. There have been no reported sightings or communication between Hallin and his family for over a week.

Detectives from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office are examining Hallin’s business dealings and events leading up to his disappearance.

The Sheriff’s Office urges anyone with information about Olof Tobias Hallin’s whereabouts to contact them at 941-747-3011.

Maycol Matute is facing charges of making a false report concerning planting a bomb, explosive, or weapon of mass destruction.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office stated that the investigation began when Matute sent a direct message to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Instagram account, claiming, ‘I sent a bomb to your police station.’

Detectives from Pinellas County collaborated with their counterparts in Miami, leading to the identification of Matute as the suspect.

During questioning, authorities revealed that Matute confessed, and thought that law enforcement would not take the threat seriously.

Sean Williams, 52, was arrested without incident Tuesday in Pinellas County after being spotted in the area and tracked down by a K-9 officer and his partner, the FBI in Knoxville said on social media.

The former Johnson City businessman was in federal custody on three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of distribution of cocaine, and is now also facing an escape charge, the FBI said. He also faces numerous state charges including child rape, aggravated sexual battery and especially aggravated sexual exploitation, court records show. In addition, two lawsuits accuse him of drugging and raping multiple victims in the small East Tennessee town for years, and allege that local police did little to investigate the reports.

Williams escaped from a transport van on Oct. 18 while being moved from a detention facility in Kentucky to the federal courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee, according to the FBI. A criminal complaint says deputies discovered after arriving at the courthouse that the vehicle’s back window was kicked out and Williams was missing. He was being held at the Laurel County Detention Center after a previous escape attempt in Tennessee.

Williams, who is originally from Florida, had stolen a car in Greeneville that was spotted by an officer in Pinellas County who unsuccessfully pursued the vehicle, U.S. Marshal David Jolley told WCYB-TV. Williams was later recognized by a store clerk and although he fled the store, officers tracked him and found him hiding underneath a tarp, Jolley said.

According to a state court search warrant, in April a Western Carolina University police officer found Williams in a car while he had an outstanding arrest warrant. Inside the car, the officer found digital storage devices with photos and videos of 52 female victims being sexually assaulted by Williams at his Johnson City apartment while they appeared to be in an “obvious state of unconsciousness,” with many of the videos stored in folders bearing at least a first name, the warrant states.

At least a half-dozen names were consistent with first names on a list labeled “Raped” found in Williams’ apartment during a September 2020 search warrant, the document states. Additionally, more than 5,000 child pornography images were on the devices, the warrant says.

A lawyer representing Williams in the federal case didn’t immediately respond to an email. A court clerk said Williams had not appeared yet to answer the state charges and did not have an attorney of record.

Along with the criminal charges, at least 10 women have accused Williams in lawsuits of drugging and raping victims for years before his arrest.

Kateri Lynne Dahl, a former special prosecutor in the local U.S. attorney’s office, sued the city and Johnson City police officials in June 2022 over how they approached the allegations about Williams. Dahl’s federal lawsuit alleges that she had substantial evidence that Williams had been dealing drugs and was credibly accused of sexually assaulting and raping multiple women, and that Johnson City police refused her plea to investigate further.

When Dahl secured a federal indictment and arrest warrant on a minor federal ammunition charge in 2021, the lawsuit says local police delayed and botched the arrest, letting Williams flee. Dahl, who had been in a position coordinating between the city and the U.S. attorney’s office, saw her contract terminated by the then-police chief, who cited failures to indict other cases, the lawsuit states.

In response to Dahl’s lawsuit, Johnson City maintained in a statement that non-renewal of Dahl’s contract “was justified and based on failure to perform her contractual obligations.” The city also responded to Dahl’s claims about how the police department handled the allegations against Williams, who was referred to by the pseudonym “Robert Voe.”

“Regarding claims about the Johnson City Police Department’s willingness to apprehend “Robert Voe,” it is important to note that the department requested an indictment on Voe in 2020, which was not obtained until five months later,” the city said in a statement.

In an August 2022 court filing, attorneys for the city and its then-police chief contended that the sexual assault allegations were properly investigated, adding that the chief and a captain thought indicting Williams on the ammunition offense would be the most feasible option to help along investigations into possible cocaine trafficking, gun possession or sexual assault.

Additionally, numerous “Jane Doe” plaintiffs filed their own lawsuit this past June, claiming that Johnson City police received reports alleging Williams had tried to drug and/or sexually assault women in his apartment, but officers treated him as untouchable.

Erick Herrin, an attorney representing the city, the then-police chief and other officers in the federal litigation, said local rules bar him from commenting on the lawsuits.

“We are confident the judicial system will bring about a proper resolution in this controversy,” Herrin said via email.

The Associated Press also left phone and email messages with police department officials seeking comment.

The city released a statement earlier this year highlighting changes it made in sexual assault investigations by police after the city ordered an audit.

In the summer of 2022, Johnson City contracted with a company for a third-party audit into how police there handle sexual assault-related investigations. Some of the findings released this July include that police conducted inconsistent, ineffective and incomplete investigations and had flaws in closing them; relied on inadequate record management; had insufficient training, policies and procedures; and sometimes showed issues with gender-based stereotypes and bias.

The city has said it took steps to make changes while it awaited the audit’s findings. Some of these include using the local district’s new sexual assault investigation protocol; reviewing investigative policies and procedures; creating a “comfortable space” for victim interviews; adding $100,000 more for officer training; and investing $50,000 in a new records management system.

“We believe these steps to be significant, but only the beginning. We commit to demonstrating improvements in the areas where we have fallen short,” City Manager Cathy Ball said in a July news release.

Once he was discovered, any thoughts he might have had about running again ended when he saw who was making the arrest.

A wild chase came to a wild end in Port St. Lucie after a police K-9 tracked down the suspect in a pasture near Interstate 95.

That K-9 is Landi and he’s been Officer Mitch Miller’s partner for about two years.

Together, they pulled up to the scene just after the suspect crashed his vehicle and joined the chase into the pasture.

“There’s thick in some areas and in some areas it’s knee high, so it’s not like you can do a full out sprint,” Miller said.

Miller and Landi wound up leading that pursuit for about 30 minutes, and with help from a Martin County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, they were eventually able to track down their man.

“At one point, he bended down behind a tree and then Martin County kept eyes on him and walked us right in,” he said.

And Miller believes any thoughts that suspect may have had of taking off again ended when he saw who was making the arrest.

“A lot of people are more willing to comply when there’s a dog looking at them, pretty much at eye level because the guy was sitting down,” he said.

The suspect added to his armed carjacking and smuggling charges by fleeing and eluding police.

Anthony Guerra is facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after the incident.

Words like belligerent and aggressive were used to describe Guerra’s behavior towards staff in the arrest report.

“They have these car shows every so often,” said Lady Lake police Chief Steven Hunt. “They go off without a hitch routinely. So this was something very unique.”

It all started just before 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Spanish Springs section of The Villages. The victim, who was part of The Villages entertainment staff, was told a man was being “belligerent” with other staff over entry into a car show.

“Evidently, tempers flared a little bit,” Chief Hunt said.

Seventy-six-year-old Anthony Guerra was asked to leave the event. And after Guerra put his car into reverse:

“It appears deliberately struck the staff member, causing him to go up onto the trunk and roll off to the side,” Hunt said.

The man was taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK.

“It definitely could have been a lot worse,” Hunt said. “So we’re thankful that it wasn’t.

According to the arrest affidavit, Guerra told an officer he was upset about another group being let into the car show ahead of him and that the victim called him a name.

Guerra said when he backed up, he “…did not see the victim until the victim was on his luggage rack” on the back of the car.

But witnesses and the victim say Guerra did it on purpose because he had been kicked out of the show.

“He was arrested and charged with battery with a deadly weapon because of the motor vehicle that was involved,” Hunt said.

After being taken into custody, Guerra was also taken to the hospital — after beginning to shake uncontrollably — but was taken to the Lake County Jail once he was medically cleared. He has since been released.

“I feel like the worst mother in the world. I feel like I’m failing my kids,” Colon previously said.

Now, Colon is beaming in her new apartment.

“I cry when I wake up and say, ‘I can’t believe,'” Colon said.

After hearing about the Colon family’s story, the community came together to help them out, some even paying for a hotel so the family would have a place to lay their heads at night.

Knowing the eviction was coming, Colon had applied for an apartment and was on the waiting list. Luckily, the approval came through in record time.

Colon’s daughter, Hillary, now has her own room. Furthermore, her 10-year-old son has made new friends with whom he likes to play outside and swim in the pool.

People also donated food, furniture, a turkey for Thanksgiving and a tree for Christmas.

“I’m in a better place — starting to live a better life —it’s a new beginning for me,” Colon said.

No injuries have been reported, and there is no hazmat situation associated with the spilled contents from the derailed train cars.

The incident is under control, but officials caution that the cleanup process will take awhile.

Authorities have not released the baby’s cause of death or the type of injuries and current conditions of the two surviving kids, ages 4 and 5.

“This is a horrific incident two days out from a holiday that centers around family,” Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young told reporters at the scene.

The mother’s name has not been released and police were investigating the fire as a homicide, Young said. Authorities have not named a suspect. The fire began around midnight Tuesday at the Countryside Apartments, Young said, and the infant was found in a crib near the mother.

WKMG in Orlando reported that state investigators believe a fire was intentionally set at the apartment.

Officials also said a police officer was treated for smoke inhalation.

“I’m very proud of all the officers that initially responded, as well as fire and medical personnel,” Young said. “If it wasn’t for their actions, there probably would have been more lives lost.”

Two other children from the residence were rushed to the hospital and are in critical condition.

James Garcia was home alone with his grandma at the beginning of the month when she fell. Members of the rescue team said Garcia was so calm and brave, and that’s why they’re honoring him with a young hero award.

“I don’t know what’s happening to my grandma … I’m scared,” Garcia said over the phone to 911 dispatchers on Nov. 4.

What started out as a normal Saturday with his grandma taking care of him, ended with him taking care of her.

“I heard a bumping sound and that was my grandma falling,” Garcia said.

Garcia’s grandma had fallen upstairs and was suffering from a medical episode. Since nobody else was home, Garcia took action.

“I ran all the way from there and took the phone and called 911,” Garcia said.

The first person at the door from the rescue team was Nicholas Wilson.

“They said there was somebody there helping grandma … I didn’t realize he was so young…surprising to see a little man,” Wilson said.

Wilson said Garcia showed the team where his grandma was, and they brought her to the ambulance to receive care. Wilson said it proves how much education matters.

“Keep listening to us when we come to schools and stuff because it proves that paying attention and listening works. He saved his grandma’s life,” Wilson said.

“If I loved him before, you have no idea how much I do now,” Garcia’s grandma said.

When asked what he wants to do when he’s older, Garcia said he wants to be a firefighter.

The couple, along with their canine companion, were safely transported back to Air Station Clearwater and reported to be in good health.

The distress call was initiated via a digital selective calling (DSC) alert received by Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders around 11 a.m, the USCG said in a news release.

According to the USCG, the alert was triggered after a porthole on the sailboat broke, allowing water to enter and damage some onboard electronics.

“I did not see the comment,” DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And so, I know that Elon has had a target on his back ever since he purchased Twitter because I think he’s taking it in a direction that a lot of people who are used to controlling the narrative don’t like.”

Musk has sparked outcry with a recent tweet responding to a user who accused Jews of hating white people and for professing a general indifference to antisemitism. “You have said the actual truth,” Musk tweeted in a reply Wednesday.

IBM, Disney and other major advertisers have since pulled funding from X, a major blow as the platform formerly known as Twitter tries to win back big brands and their ad dollars that constitute its main source of revenue.

DeSantis announced his presidential bid on Musk’s platform, even as some research shows it has become a haven for hate speech since the billionaire took over the company last year. “State of the Union” put Musk’s post on the screen and host Jake Tapper read it to DeSantis before pressing him to condemn it — but the governor continued to demur.

“I know you tried to read it. I have no idea what the context is,” said DeSantis who was joining the show via videoconference . “I know Elon Musk. I have never seen him do anything. I think he’s a guy that believes in America. I have never seen him indulge in any of that. So it’s surprising, if that’s true, but I have not seen it. So I don’t want to sit there and pass judgment on the fly.”

The governor also said he opposes antisemitism “across the board,” no matter if it comes from the right or left of the ideological spectrum.

“It’s wrong no matter what,” DeSantis said.

The post has drawn criticism from the White House, where spokesperson Andrew Bates said last week that, “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

That referred to Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel, which occurred on Oct. 7.

Appearing on Tapper’s show in person immediately after DeSantis, Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said it wasn’t credible to believe that someone running for president didn’t see Musk’s post: “This is four days later and he has not had a chance to read what Elon Musk wrote?”

“That is very hard for me to believe,” Raskin said. “In any event you showed it to him, and he still refused to condemn it.”

“If you’re serous about condemning and confronting antisemitism and racism and these bigotries, which are the gateways to destruction of liberal democracy, you’ve got to be explicit and open and full-throated about it,” Raskin added “and you’ve got to denounce the antisemitism and racism across the board.”

Raskin himself called the post “outrageous and dangerous,” and suggested that he and other members of the House planned to write to Musk “to ask him to renounce those comments and to clean up his act.”

Shakeira Yvonne Rucker was reported missing after her family told the Winter Springs Police Department that they last saw her on November 11, the department said in a Facebook post on November 13.

Rucker’s family said she left her home for “an unknown destination,” possibly with her estranged husband, Cory Hill, at around 7:30 p.m. on November 11, police said.

“The family has not seen or heard from Shakeira since that day and believes that she may be in danger,” police said in the social media post.

The search for Rucker spanned four counties and included help from several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Winter Springs Police Chief Matthew Tracht said at a news conference on Sunday.

Tracht said investigators worked 16- to 18-hour days so they could bring closure in the case. The search for Rucker came to an end on Saturday, when authorities informed her family of the discovery of her body.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Sunday that deputies responded to a storage unit facility in Apopka, about 20 miles northwest of Orlando, around 5 p.m. Saturday after they received a 911 call about a smell coming from one of the units.

When deputies opened the unit, they found a woman later identified as Rucker dead from apparent gunshot wounds, Mina said. Her official cause of death is still pending as investigators await an autopsy result, Mina added.

Authorities named Hill, 51, as the prime suspect after investigators learned the unit Rucker was located in was registered to him, Mina said.

CNN has reached out to the public defender listed as legal representation for Hill.

The sheriff added that officials believe the shooting happened at the storage unit, and a motive is still undetermined.

Hill was booked in the Orange County Jail on November 13 for an unrelated shooting, Orange County Jail records show. Hill has been charged with four counts of attempted murder after allegedly shooting at a former girlfriend and her family on November 12, Mina said at the news conference.

Miami-Dade County remains waterlogged, with a neighborhood near Northeast 116th Street and 14th Avenue in North Miami still seeing ankle-deep water.

“When it starts flooding, it gets real crazy over here,” said area resident Kevin Jean-Baptiste.

“It’s too much,” said another resident.

Reports of cars submerged and towed away reveal the aftermath of the relentless rain and winds.

Speaking through a translator, a resident who identified herself as Esperanza said the situation is “horrible.” She said her children have not been able to go to school because of the standing water. She said the water is so dirty because of the garbage cans with bacteria and germs.

Jean-Baptiste said the flooding has caused plumbing problems.

“We can’t flush our toilet, take good showers or anything. It’s like really terrible right now,” he said.

Parts of Miami Gardens also face lingering flooding, with streets in the 2200 block of Northwest 170th Street still submerged. Picture sent in by a 7News viewer showed traffic barrels floating on the roadway.

Residents said that in some spots, the standing water is knee-deep.

Residents attribute the recurrent problem to drainage issues, expressing frustration and hoping for a swift resolution.

According to Miami-Dade County Public Works, one of the two pumps in Esperanza and Jean-Baptiste’s neighborhood failed Thursday morning, and crews are currently figuring out how to bring in more pumping power.

For Esperanza, that help can’t come soon enough.

“Bring people who can work on the pumps to get the water out. It’s not fair,” she said.

In Broward County, the situation is equally dire.

Despite considerable improvement in many flood zones over the past 24 hours, a neighborhood off Hiatus Road in Davie remains submerged, leaving residents frustrated.

“Very concerned. It’s only two days of rain and, as you can tell, it’s terrible,” said area resident Ingrid Korkkanem.

Korkkanem said she and her family are halfway through building their dream home, and she can barely come and go with all this standing water.

“I was hoping that they would do something by now, but not yet,” she said.

A homeowner who lives across the submerged street compared his property to an island surrounded by water.

“This is the fourth time this has happened,” he said.

He is unable to leave until the water goes down.

Korkkanem said the neighbors keep an eye on him.

“I think he has someone who comes and bring him supper. We always keep an eye on him,” she said.

The parking lot of a nearby Broward College campus remained flooded on Friday. Classes were canceled for a third consecutive day.

The aerial view from 7Skyforce showed flooded rural areas housing animals. A pasture that several farm animals call home now resembles a swamp. One camel, an animal that can go days without water, was seen wading across the flooded pasture.

The flooding remains a lingering and ongoing concern for residents.

“It’s just very scary and hard when you’re trying to just, you know,” said Korkkanem. “I mean, you work, you have to go to the store and things like that. It didn’t feel like a hurricane or a tropical storm, but it was windy and it was just steady, it didn’t stop raining.”

Despite sunny skies on Friday, parts of South Florida struggled to recover, highlighting the resilience needed to navigate the aftermath of the storm.

Back in North Miami, Jean-Baptiste got his scooter back after it was damaged by floodwaters. He’s hoping South Florida gets a much-needed break from the rain.

“‘Cause it’ll sprinkle for a couple of hours, and it’ll rise up,” he said. “It don’t matter, it just don’t matter. Once any type of rain comes, it starts flooding just like this, and it stays like this for a while.”

Miami-Dade Public Works officials did not give 7News a timeline when it comes to bringing relief to the North Miami neighborhood that is still dealing with flooded streets.

Donald Santini pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors to avoid a first-degree murder charge. Circuit Judge Samantha Ward approved the deal before issuing the sentence in Tampa on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The case had been set to go to trial in two weeks.

“Good luck,” the judge told Santini, who has been in jail without bond since his arrest in June at his home near San Diego.

”Thank you, Your Honor,” Santini, whose hands were cuffed in front of him, replied.

Before his arrest, Santini had lived in California under the name of Wellman Simmonds. He was president of a local water board in Campo, a tiny suburb of San Diego, and he regularly appeared at public board meetings.

The life he had built in California came to an end thanks to a tip from the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. That led U.S. marshals to Campo, where Santini was taken into custody.

In 1984, Santini was known as Charles Michael Stevens, which was an alias he used to outrun a warrant for a crime committed in Texas. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s officials said he used at least 13 aliases over the years.

Prosecutors, who were prepared to present new facts about the case to jurors, said Santini was the last person to be seen with Cynthia “Cindy” Ruth Wood, 33, on June 6, 1984, and her body was found in a water-filled ditch three days later.

Assistant State Attorney Scott Harmon said during Thursday’s hearing that Wood told friends and associates she was going on a date on June 5, 1984, and neighbors later told investigators they saw a van parked in her driveway.

Harmon said a woman who was in a relationship with Santini told investigators that he borrowed a van to go on the date.

“He advised that he was taking her on a date to make sure she was intoxicated and then drop her in front of a police station,” Harmon said.

A witness told investigators that Santini had said the family of Wood’s husband paid him to get damaging character evidence, which could be used in a custody battle over the couple’s young children.

Santini told the woman the next morning that he’d killed Wood and dumped her body, Harmon said.

“That witness would have been able to identify the defendant,” Harmon said.

After the hearing, Hillsborough Assistant Public Defender Jamie Kane declined to comment on the case.

John Kreatsoulas, the fossil finder from Fossil Junkies Dig and Dive Charters, expressed his amazement.

“I grabbed onto it just to hold on for a second and I realized ‘Wait a second, that’s not a tree, that was a mammoth,'” he said.

The remarkable discovery was made in an area known for its alligator presence.

Currently working to restore the ancient jaw, Kreatsoulas plans to register it with the state. If state officials decline, he said he would proudly display it in his home.

Steven Reinhardt said he was in the water near Juno Beach when he had a frightening encounter with a shark.

“And I just felt something hit my arm and thrash it, and I was like, ‘What the?’ You know, yeah, and I lift my arm up, and it looked like a Halloween prop,” he said. “I could see the muscles hanging and the blood and the bone.”

The realization hit the 60-year-old swimmer immediately.

“I kind of knew it was a shark when it hit me,” he said.

Then, against all odds, and with a mangled and bloody arm, Reinhardt swam 100 yards back to shore. He said his mind was focused more on staying alive than the pain he was enduring.

“Just get in before I bleed out, yeah, before I pass out,” he said.

Once he was back on shore, Reinhardt said, another miracle happened.

“There was one person on the beach, so I swam for her, and then I saw her, and I got out of the water and told her, ‘Please call 911,’ and I probably scared her to death,” he said.

That woman helped Reinhardt apply a tourniquet made from the drawstring of his shorts.

Over the phone, he was able to say his first thank you to the good Samaritan since the frightening marine encounter.

“I’ll get your number, if you don’t mind. I’ll call you, and I wanna bring you something, OK?” he said to her on the phone.

A first responder and a trauma surgeon said the immediate use of a tourniquet to control his blood loss was crucial.

“I don’t think it saved his arm; it may have saved his life,” said Gordon Wilson with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

“This is the worst shark bite that I’ve managed myself,” said Dr. Matthew Ramseyer.

Doctors said Reinhardt will make a full recovery after he undergoes two surgeries and a skin graft.

The justices refused to narrow a lower-court order that has prohibited the law from being enforced statewide.

Florida had asked the court to allow its anti-drag show law to be enforced everywhere except at the Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Orlando, which challenged the law’s constitutionality.

Three justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, said they would have granted the state’s request.

Last month, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s order stopping the law from being enforced. The district court found that the law likely restricted free speech and couldn’t be enforced anywhere in the state.

Hamburger Mary’s regularly hosts drag shows, including family-friendly performances on Sundays that children are invited to attend. The restaurant’s owner said the law was overly broad, was written vaguely and violated First Amendment rights by chilling speech.

The new law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, punished venues for allowing children into what it called “adult live performances.” Though it did not mention drag shows specifically, the sponsor of the legislation said it was aimed at those performances.

Venues that violated the law faced fines and the possibility that their liquor licenses to be suspended or revoked. Individuals could be charged with a misdemeanor crime.

The bridge in question, accused of negatively impacting the ecosystem it sits on, is now the focal point of efforts aimed at improving water circulation, water quality, clarity, and seagrass recovery.

To tackle these concerns, county leaders are exploring the possibility of funding a $750,000 study to replace the causeway across the Banana River.

According to its Instagram, drone delivery is currently exclusive to Chick-fil-A’s East Brandon-Valrico resturant. For a limited time, customers can enjoy a $0 delivery fee during delivery hours, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The service is subject to availability and delivery distance is limited.

To experience this service, customers can place their orders through the Chick-fil-A app and select “Chick-fil-A Delivery” to ensure their order will be delivered by Drone.

The chain says it’s currently in the early stages of drone testing at several other locations.

The storm system that formed over the Florida Keys this week and dumped up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain across parts of South Florida has moved into the Atlantic Ocean, bringing clearing skies to the region on Thursday, the National Weather Service in Miami said.

While hurricane season doesn’t officially end until Nov. 30, this storm wasn’t associated with a tropical system, according to Luke Culver, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami.

“It’s not considered a tropical system because of the way it formed,” Culver said, noting that the system developed more like a nor’easter, which are more common in the northeastern United States.

Heavy rain started falling across South Florida on Tuesday night, continuing into Wednesday before mostly ending early Thursday. High winds accompanied the rain, with some areas along the South Florida coastline experiencing gusts up to 70 mph (112 kph), Culver said.

The potential for flooding led officials with the Broward County school system to cancel classes on Thursday. The district is the nation’s sixth largest, with more than 251,000 students. Schools in neighboring Miami-Dade County remained open on Thursday.

The rain has not been limited to South Florida. In central Florida, the week felt more like Seattle as the area’s abundant theme park tourists faced a steady, nonstop pelting of raindrops, rather than the usual Sunshine State style of intense but quick downpours.

There were no major cancellations, though a few local outdoor Christmas-related festivities and food festivals were postponed on Thursday due to the inclement weather.

During a 24-hour period beginning Wednesday mornings, some areas in Miami received between 5 and 9 inches (12 to 23 centimeters) of rain, while the Fort Lauderdale area recorded between 4 and 7 inches (10 to 18 centimeters), Culver said.

It’s the second time this year that Fort Lauderdale has experienced heavy rainfall during a one-day period.

In mid-April, a storm system that stalled over South Florida dumped up to 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain on parts of Fort Lauderdale, causing neighborhoods to flood. The fast-rising water left dozens of motorists stranded on flooded streets and forced Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to close.

“I think it’s almost more of a bad luck kind of thing,” Culver said. “That one event (in April) was obviously very historic, on the extreme end of the scale, where this is more of an event that occurs every few years. It just happened to be that they were both in the same year.”

Despite the gruesome encounter on Nov. 5, the victim is now stitched up and on the road to recovery.

The man credits his survival to the quick thinking of a woman on shore who made a tourniquet for him before dialing 911.

According to the survivor, it was the combined efforts of the Good Samaritan and responding paramedics that ultimately saved his life.

James, with over 270,000 online followers, was in town for the Barbara Bush Foundation’s Literacy Day event. He was invited to speak and read to children at the foundation’s annual literacy day event at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach, with accommodations arranged at the Breakers Hotel.

On Monday morning, while conducting his routine of reading live on TikTok on the hotel grounds, James encountered a security guard who questioned him about a reported disturbance at the pool area.

“They asked me if I was by the pool area, and I was like, why are you asking me? That’s what I told them. And they were like, we got a disturbance from the pool area, saying that you were making a disturbance at the pool,” James shared in a TikTok live video.

Despite denying any involvement and not answering questions about his guest status or providing ID, staff called the Palm Beach Police, who escorted James to his room to pack his belongings.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. 100%. Why would you walk directly up to me? There’s a thousand people in this whole entire place,” said James.

The Breakers Hotel denied any discrimination allegations, stating that the guest refused to comply, leading to the decision to ask him to leave.

Hogue and his alleged accomplice, Rebecca Kozub, were apprehended by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after a 911 call reported their early Monday morning escapades of breaking into cars and theft.

Hogue, boasting a criminal record spanning over 15 years, now faces a litany of charges, including resisting an officer, burglary, possession of meth, and petty theft. This arrest adds to his staggering tally of 31 criminal felonies, encompassing armed burglaries, grand theft, identity theft, and drug possession.

Kozub, implicated as Hogue’s partner in crime, carries her own history with 19 felonies, including charges of grand theft.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office emphasizes the potential harm these individuals could have caused, underscoring the urgency of legal consequences.

Brian Bruchey of the Sheriff’s Office states, “It could have been much worse. These are two individuals who have quite a lengthy criminal history. We’re hoping they get put in prison and stay there a while.”

The Florida State Attorney’s Office is actively prioritizing public safety enhancements to prevent the easy release of repeat felons like Hogue and Kozub.

Republican primary voters in the Granite State are shaking things up.

In an exclusive 7News/Emerson college poll, it showed that 49% of Republican voters in New Hampshire still favor former President Donald Trump. But former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has surged to second with 18%. She’s followed by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 9%. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has dropped to 7% and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is polling at 5%. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson got less than 1%.

“For the last year, we’ve been looking at Ron DeSantis/Donald Trump race and now it looks like Nikki Haley is the alternative instead of Ron DeSantis at this point,” said Spencer Kimball, 7News/Emerson College pollster. “You know, about a year ago, Ron DeSantis was at 17%. Now he’s down to 7%. And when we look at a candidate like Nikki Haley, since August, she’s gone from 4% up to 18%.

New Hampshire voters in general also seem to prefer Haley over President Biden.

In a hypothetical presidential matchup, Haley beats Biden, 45% to 39%.

“Where she’s strong is with the independent vote,” Kimball said. “So, while Trump is very strong with Republican voters, Haley is actually competing very closely in the primary with the independent vote.”

Haley is the only Republican in our poll to beat Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head, which also includes Trump.

Forty-seven percent of New Hampshire voters said they would vote for Biden in a repeat of the 2020 matchup. Only 42% of voters would pick Trump.

“We have Nikki Haley and she’s actually beating Biden,” Kimball said. “What we’re really looking at is there potential in the future for more votes for Nikki Haley and there is.”

And then there is the wild card; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

7News’ poll shows RFK Jr. surging since dropping out of the Democratic contest last month to run as an Independent.

Looking at a general race, which includes Independents, RFK and former Harvard University professor, Cornell West, 7News found that Biden’s lead among New Hampshire voters shrinks from 47% to 40%. Trump’s support drops from 42% to 37%. RFK Jr. pulls in 8% of New Hampshire voters. Cornell west grabs 1%.

“With RFK, what we see is he’s getting his vote from both candidates, an equal 6% come from Biden and 6% come from Trump,” Kimball said. “On the flip side, Cornell West is taking slightly more vote from Biden. So, when you add some of these third party candidates, it’s more of a negative for Biden at this time.”

While Trump is facing legal troubles, 7News’ poll found that GOP voters who currently support the former president, 80% said a criminal conviction won’t change their minds. Only 5% said it would.

Disney accounted for 263,000 jobs in Florida, more than three times the actual workforce at Walt Disney World, according to the study conducted by Oxford Economics and commissioned by Disney, covering fiscal year 2022. The study attributed its multibillion-dollar impact to its supply chain and employees’ spending.

The jobs include Disney employees as well as jobs supported by visitor spending off Disney World property. In central Florida, Disney directly accounts for 1 in 8 jobs, and for every direct job at Disney World, another 1.7 jobs are supported across Florida, Oxford Economics said.

The time period in the study is before the takeover earlier this year of Disney World’s governing district by DeSantis and his appointees after Disney publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. The law was championed by DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Disney officials in the past year have said the company plans to invest an additional $17 billion over the next decade in central Florida, including potentially adding another 13,000 jobs. However, the company has shown a willingness to pull back investing in the Sunshine State. Earlier this year, Disney scrapped plans to relocate 2,000 employees from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development, an investment estimated at $1 billion.

Disney World already has four theme parks, more than 25 hotels, two water parks and a shopping and dining district on 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares) outside Orlando, Florida.

Disney is battling DeSantis and his appointees in federal and state courts over the takeover of what was formally called the Reedy Creek Improvement District but was renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District after DeSantis appointees gained control. The district was created by the Florida Legislature in 1967 to handle municipal services like firefighting, road repairs and waste hauling, and it was controlled by Disney supporters until earlier this year.

Before control of the district changed hands from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees, the Disney supporters on its board signed agreements with Disney shifting control over design and construction at Disney World to the company. The new DeSantis appointees said the “eleventh-hour deals” neutered their powers, and the district sued the company in state court in Orlando to have the contracts voided. Disney has filed counterclaims, which include asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable.

Disney also has sued DeSantis, a state agency and DeSantis appointees on the district’s board in federal court in Tallahassee, saying the company’s free speech rights were violated when the governor and Republican lawmakers targeted it for expressing opposition to the law dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its critics.

“It’s a new way for consumers to access a vehicle for a shorter period of time,” explains Ivan Mihov, VP of AutoNation Mobility.

The program offers access to cars significantly shorter than the average three to four year lease.

“We have over 300 dealerships and we can offer just an unparalleled selection for this short duration of six to 12 months, no one else is really offering this,” said Mihov.

Mihov explained that this program is ideal for car enthusiasts, relocators, and those wanting the latest model. Micro leasing includes maintenance and roadside assistance. At the end of the lease, customers have the option to extend or buy the car.

“We’ve seen car enthusiasts that want to get that M4 and it’s a splurge for them but it’s an experience for them and they’re willing to do it for a year because it’s much more affordable than buying it,” Mihov said.

The entire process is digital, allowing users to browse available cars, configure payments, and complete the leasing process online.

“Everything happens online, so it’s a fully digital process,” says Mihov. “You don’t have to go into the dealership, all the pricing is fully transparent, you don’t need to negotiate.”

Once a customer finds a car they like, they can configure what payment they want, select the length of your lease and amount of miles.

“Obviously, you’ve got the pictures of the car and this is the specific car,” said Mihov. “One of the things we do is we pick the exact cars that are on the lot. Only cars that are available are on the website.”

Then customers go through a credit process, but the entire process takes about 15 to 20 minutes. As soon as 24 hours later, participant can go on in to pick up the keys.

Currently available in South Florida and Southern California, the service aims to roll out nationwide soon.

Dust devils, short-lived and less intense tornadoes, form when the sun heats the ground during late morning or early afternoon hours.

Meeks’ footage captured the swirling phenomenon, caused by light desert breezes, with wind speeds less than 70 mph.

Dust devils are generally harmless, not associated with thunderstorms or clouds, making them a fascinating yet typically weak natural occurrence.

Jennifer Tapley reported to the sheriff’s office, citing the book “Storm and Fury” as child pornography, seeking enforcement against its distribution in the school.

“The governor says, this is child pornography,” said Tapley on a depity’s bodycam footage. “It’s a serious crime — it’s just as serious as if I handed a Playboy to her right now. Right here in front of you. It’s just as serious, according to the law.”

Despite Tapley’s concerns, the school district asserts compliance with state law, stating no crime has occurred.

Outside of the school, deputies spoke among themselves, stating that this incident isn’t “their thing” and that this matter belongs to the school district.

The sheriff’s office said they don’t have grounds for an investigation. It’s worth noting that Tapley is currently running for a school board seat.

The incident occurred after the homeowner hired a contractor for tree trimming, resulting in a significant mishap.

The homeowner, now facing a gaping hole in the roof and a hefty bill, emphasizes the importance of obtaining insurance information beforehand.

“You must protect yourself by getting insurance information in advance, especially for something that has potential of of harming your property,” said one expert.

The Better Business Bureau reminds homeowners that tree cutting doesn’t require a license and advises to conduct thorough research before hiring tree services to avoid potential property damage.

“It was the scariest moment of my life, I will tell you that much right now,” said Deputy Santos, holding back tears as he described the terrifying moment when a speeding vehicle rammed into him and Corporal Carlos Brito. “He comes back, we see the car. Immediately I try to push corporal out of the way from what I’ve been told, I didn’t even know I did this. I pushed him out of the way, I pushed myself out of the way, and when I fell on the ground I made sure I wasn’t bleeding.”

Deputy Santos, released from Tampa General Hospital on Saturday, faces a challenging recovery journey.

“I’ve got some ligament damage, tendon damage,” he said. “I’m going to have to go through reconstructive surgery for my knee, my tibia, fibia — that’s all destroyed.”

His partner, Corporal Brito, endured severe injuries and, in the immediate aftermath of the crash, believed he might not survive.

“Corporal Brito thought he was dying, so he wanted to say goodbye to his wife, so he used his radio to say goodbye to his wife,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.

Surgeons are working diligently to salvage the lower part of Brito’s left leg. Despite the grim situation, there is a glimmer of hope.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office provided a positive update on Corporal Brito’s condition, stating he is in great spirits, and medical staff are actively working towards a full recovery.

Deputy Santos, preparing for surgery next week, expressed optimism for his partner’s recovery.

“My hope is that he keeps his body the way it is and he comes out walking, and we get back to the next shift,” he said.

The suspect responsible for the ambush is now facing three counts of attempted murder on a law enforcement officer. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported that the suspect has displayed violent behavior in jail and attempted to harm deputies.

Organizers on Friday rolled out the red carpet at the Breakers Palm Beach Resort near West Palm Beach to celebrate the impressive canines.

Twenty-five service dogs will be up for awards for their roles in search and rescue, therapy and more at a ceremony set to take place November 26.

The loss of Pork Chop was heartbreaking for owner Kelly Jacobson.

“I don’t know what else to say right now. They took Pork Chop away from me,” she said as she wiped away tears.

Jacobson’s pig, estimated at 400 pounds, was led away — not easily — by Palm Beach Animal Care and Control during an eviction in Northwood Village, Thursday night.

Officers were concerned about the animal’s weight and overall health and are now looking to gain custody.

Annette Wrubleski runs a pig sanctuary called Laughing Pig, located about two and a half hours away in Central Florida. She said they can help pigs like Pork Chop there.

“It’s going to be a long process, so if he can’t walk, and he can’t, he doesn’t have that activity level to exercise, but it will come in time,” she said.

In addition to MCSO, the lawsuit also names Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay and the three deputies involved in the July 3, 2022 incident that, Jordan Rivero said, changed his life forever.

The incident unfolded as captured by body camera video, showing Rivero being removed from a mangled vehicle following a crash on the Florida Turnpike.

Riding home from a fishing trip in the Florida Keys, the truck that Rivero was riding in collided with a concrete pole, leading to a chaotic scene.

Rivero shared his account of the incident with 7News on Friday.

“As we were going to leave, they were going to fish another bridge on the way home, but I was pretty much tired, so I went in the truck to get some rest, and that’s all I remember from that point,” he said.

Emergency officials arrived at the scene, removed Rivero from the truck and directed him to a backboard on the street.

Rivero began to wander. Disoriented and in shock from the crash, he struggled to breathe through a broken nose.

Rivero said he found himself surrounded by deputies.

The bodycam video shows deputies telling Rivero to relax and breathe through his mouth, as he struggled to stay seated.

“Why are you not sitting?” one deputy is heard saying.

When Rivero got up again, a deputy shocked him with a Taser, which caused him to grab his chest and hit his head on the ground.

After he received medical attention and was shocked with a Taser, Rivero said, he suffered a seizure.

“I woke up in the hospital from a coma. I still go through back pain, headaches, all types of stuff 24/7,” he said.

Rivero’s attorney, Dena Forman, also spoke with 7News.

“The reason that a Taser is used, in general, is to subdue someone who is dangerous or violent when they’re trying to apprehend someone who is avoiding arrest. Jordan was neither of those things,” she said.

The lawsuit states, “At no point was Mr. Rivero suspected of a crime or in custody; he was an adolescent victim of a horrific car accident while on an early morning fishing trip.”

The lawsuit claims that the use of the Taser was “extreme, unnecessary, and unreasonable, given that Mr. Rivero appeared to be confined to the location of the shoulder of the road, blocked from traffic by fire engines, emergency services units, and police vehicles.”

Rivero said deputies deployed a Taser on him four times within one minute.

“I don’t know why anyone should be treated like that, from going through such a tragic incident,” he said.

The 20-year-old reflected on what could have been. Before the crash, he said, he was a cadet in high school and was preparing to take the exam to become a firefighter in Palm Beach County, just like his father.

“I’ve always looked up to him. I did everything right: I did cadets for four years, did [emergency medical technician] school, and this just threw a curve ball at me. Now I can’t do any of that,” he said. “This was something I was looking forward to, and it was my dream job. Now I feel like it was taken away from me.”

Rivero and his attorney are requesting a jury trial. As of Friday night, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to 7News’ requests for comment.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, 34 migrants were found clinging to the partially sunken vessel about 20 miles off of Marathon.

A crew member from the Coast Guard stationed in Marathon rushed to the scene and was able to pull the migrants out of the water.

Officials have not identified the migrants’ country of origin.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon means that the trial, for now at least, remains scheduled to begin on May 20, 2024 despite efforts by the Trump team to postpone it until after next November’s presidential election.

Trump’s lawyers had argued that they needed more time to review the large trove of evidence with which they’d been presented and also cited scheduling challenges resulting from the other legal cases against Trump, including three additional criminal prosecutions for which he is awaiting trial. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team had vigorously opposed that position in urging the judge to leave the trial date intact.

Cannon signaled during a hearing this month, and again in her written order on Friday, that she was sympathetic to the defense arguments. She noted the “unusually high volume of classified and unclassified evidence” involved in the case, as well as the fact that Trump is currently scheduled next March to face both a federal trial in Washington and a trial on state charges in New York.

“Although the Special Counsel is correct that the trajectory of these matters potentially remains in flux, the schedules as they currently stand overlap substantially with the deadlines in this case, presenting additional challenges to ensuring Defendant Trump has adequate time to prepare for trial and to assist in his defense,” Cannon wrote.

She pushed back several deadlines for filing and responding to pretrial motions but kept the trial date in place, though she said she would consider the defense request again at a scheduling conference next March.

The case in Florida includes dozens of felony charges accusing the Republican former president of illegally retaining classified documents at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and hiding them from government investigators. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

Trump is currently set for trial on March 4, 2024, in Washington on federal charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. He also faces charges in Georgia accusing him of trying to subvert that state’s vote, as well as another state case in New York accusing him of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

In addition, Trump has been sued in a business fraud case in New York, where a trial is taking place. Trump has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases, claiming without evidence that they are part of a politically motivated effort to prevent him from returning to the White House.

Pelicans divebomb nearby into the cool waters of Florida’s Withlacoochee Bay and the open view westward holds the promise of dazzling sunsets.

It may have seemed like an ideal getaway for Florida businessman Patrick Parker Walsh. Instead, he’s serving five and half years in federal prison for stealing nearly $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds that he used, in part, to buy Sweetheart Island.

While Walsh’s private island ranks among the more unusual purchases by pandemic fraudsters, his crime was not unique. He is one of thousands of thieves who perpetrated the greatest grift in U.S. history. They potentially plundered more than $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent.

The loss represents close to 10% of the $4.3 trillion the U.S. government has disbursed to mitigate the economic devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

An AP review of hundreds of pandemic fraud cases presents a picture of thieves and scam artists who spent lavishly on houses, luxury watches and diamond jewelry, Lamborghinis and other expensive cars. The stolen aid also paid for long nights at strip clubs, gambling sprees in Las Vegas and bucket-list vacations.

Their crimes were relatively simple: The government’s goal was to get cash into the hands of struggling people and businesses with minimal hassle, particularly during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. Safeguards to weed out the swindlers were dropped. As Walsh’s case and thousands of others have shown, stealing the money was as easy as lying on an application.

The thieves came from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. There was a Tennessee rapper who bragged about the ease of stealing more than $700,000 in pandemic unemployment insurance on YouTube. A former pizzeria owner and host of a cryptocurrency-themed radio show bought an alpaca farm in Vermont with pilfered aid. And an ex-Nigerian government official who grabbed about half a million dollars in COVID-19 relief benefits was wearing a $10,000 watch and $35,000 gold chain when he was arrested.

Nearly 3,200 defendants have been charged with COVID-19 relief fraud, according to the U.S. Justice Department. About $1.4 billion in stolen pandemic aid has been seized.

Investigators won’t catch every crook. The scale and scope of the fraud are too large. Pandemic cases often depend on digital evidence, which is perishable, and the financial trail can go cold over time, said Bob Westbrooks, former executive director of the federal Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.

“The uncomfortable truth is the federal criminal justice system is simply not equipped to fully address the unprecedented volume of pandemic relief fraud cases, large and small, and involving thousands upon thousands of domestic and foreign actors,” Westbrooks said.

Top Justice Department officials are undeterred by the enormity of the task. They’ve created special “ strike forces ” to hunt down COVID-19 aid thieves and vowed not to give up the chase.

“We’ll stay at it for as long as it takes,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in August.

Konstantinos Zarkadas, a New York doctor deeply in debt, joined the rogues’ gallery of COVID-19 fraudsters by falsifying at least 11 separate applications for pandemic aid that netted him almost $3.8 million, according to prosecutors. He bought Rolex and Cartier wristwatches valued at $140,000 for himself and family members and made a hefty down payment on a yacht, according to court records.

Zarkadas used about $3 million to pay off part of an earlier civil judgment against him for breaching a real estate lease. His most brazen move was to send $80,000 of the looted cash back to the government to settle a federal lawsuit alleging he violated the Controlled Substances Act by dispensing more than 20,000 doses of a weight-loss drug without keeping accurate records, prosecutors said.

The state of New York revoked Zarkadas’ medical license shortly after he was sentenced to more than four years in prison for swiping the pandemic aid.

The stolen funds financed the high-rolling lifestyle of Lee E. Price III, a Houston resident with prior felony convictions for forgery and robbery. He swindled nearly $1.7 million by submitting bogus aid applications on behalf of businesses that existed only on paper, according to court records.

Price wasted little time blowing $14,000 on a Rolex and more than $233,000 for a flashy white Lamborghini Urus, a luxury SUV that can go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds. He also spent thousands of dollars at the Casanova, a Houston stripclub. Price was sentenced to more than nine years in prison.

Vinath Oudomsine of Georgia also created a fake company that he claimed made $235,000 a year and had 10 employees. A few weeks after Oudomsine applied for the pandemic aid, the government rushed him $85,000 to keep his non-existent business afloat.

Oudomsine spent nearly $58,000 on a 1999 Charizard Pokémon card, which depicts a gold dragon-like creature, jaws wide open, poised to attack.

While not as valuable as rare baseball cards — a mint condition Mickey Mantle card sold for $12.6 million last year — Pokémon merchandise can command big money as collectors have driven up prices for collectibles issued by the popular franchise.

At Oudomsine’s sentencing last year, U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen called Oudomsine’s theft “an $85,000 insult” to a country reeling from the pandemic.

“I feel foolish every time I say it: Pokémon card,” Bowen said before sending Oudomsine to prison for three years.

Patrick Walsh’s bid to save his aerial advertising businesses started out legitimately but quickly escalated into sizeable fraud.

Walsh operated a small fleet of cigar-shaped blimps that flew corporate logos over crowded venues. In June 2017, one of his blimps crashed and burned on live television at the men’s U.S. Open golf tournament, one of the world’s premier sporting events.

“I was teeing off and I looked up and saw it on fire, and I felt sick to my stomach,” said professional golfer Jamie Lovemark, according to an Associated Press report. The pilot — the sole passenger — was badly injured but survived, according to a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

In the wake of the crash, Walsh’s clients began to bail, his attorneys wrote in court filings. To stay afloat, he obtained high-interest loans that also allowed him to expand his businesses. By 2019, his companies had sales of $16 million and had expanded into Latin America and Asian markets.

Then the pandemic hit. “COVID-19 did not slow down business, it killed it,” Walsh’s attorneys wrote. He panicked.

Between March 2020 and January 2021 Walsh submitted more than 30 fraudulent applications for emergency pandemic aid and received $7.8 million, according to the Justice Department. Even if Walsh had followed the rules, his companies would have only qualified for a “small subset” of those loans, federal prosecutors alleged.

“His crimes are egregious and the product of greed,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. They cited the purchase of Sweetheart Island, undisclosed “luxury goods,” oil fields in Texas and a downpayment on a home in tony Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Walsh’s attorneys said in a court filing that he wasn’t motivated by avarice, but desperation. Walsh was under enormous pressure to rescue his businesses and to support his large family, they wrote. He has 11 children.

U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor didn’t buy the argument.

This was not “a single moment of weakness,” Winsor said in sentencing Walsh in January to more than five years behind bars.

As part of his plea deal, Walsh agreed to return the $7.8 million he stole and to sell Sweetheart Island, which was among his first purchases with the stolen federal money, according to the court records.

Prosecutors said Walsh used $90,000 of those funds to help finance the $116,000 island purchase. Florida property records show that the island was sold for $200,000 at the end of June.

Walsh’s attorneys said he didn’t buy the island as a “tropical paradise for entertainment” but as a real estate opportunity. They did not explain how the businessman would have transformed the isolated isle into a profit center.

Withlacoochee Bay is scattered with similar small, uninhabited islands. The only hint that anyone had ever tried to develop Sweetheart Island were a few low, timeworn cinder block walls that extend into the water. There was still a “For Sale” sign posted on a weather-beaten and leafless tree that resembled a scarecrow warning people to stay away.

An excavator was being used to clear debris at a demolished home when it toppled on its side, right on top of a grapple truck, Thursday morning.

A construction worker was on top of the truck and was operating the hook when he was pinned under the the arm of the excavator.

He was killed in the accident.

No other injuries were reported.

The incident remains under investigation.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a video message that deputies Carlos Brito, 39, and Manny Santos, 31, “are on a long road to recovery” after suffering severe leg injuries. The sheriff’s office posted a photo of Chronister with a smiling Santos and his wife in a Tampa General Hospital room.

“These deputies’ lives are changed forever,” the sheriff said.

The two were answering a call Thursday from a woman who said her son, 28-year-old Ralph Bouzy, was acting irrationally and kicking in doors at their home in Brandon, a suburb east of Tampa. When the deputies arrived, Bouzy took off in his car and then quickly raced back down the residential street and struck them, Chronister said.

He was arrested outside the home by another deputy who used a stun weapon to subdue him.

Bouzy is charged with attempted murder of law enforcement officers and will remain in custody until at least Wednesday when a bail hearing is scheduled, a judge ruled Friday. Court records did not list an attorney who could speak for Bouzy, who had been arrested previously for three felonies and 14 misdemeanors and has expressed hostility toward law enforcement, Chronister said.

In one 2017 case, authorities said Bouzy punched a deputy in the face while being arrested for a hit-and-run accident. He said in the back of the patrol car at the time that he “hated law enforcement and that he was going to kill a deputy sheriff,” Chronister said. Court records also show Bouzy has a history of mental problems.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Jerome Sanders, 44, currently held at the Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island for previous drug-related charges with no bond allowed, allegedly sent a threatening letter to the judge on Nov. 2, 2023.

Sheriff Rick Ramsay emphasized a zero-tolerance policy for threats against members of the criminal justice community.

“This suspect is exactly where he belongs — in jail,” said Ramsay.

The former teacher, Harriet Sugg, has also been named in a civil suit brought by the victim, as has The First Academy and The First Baptist Church of Orlando.

The victim came forward to police in 2022 when she was in her twenties.

In September 2014, Harriet Sugg spoke with students about “overcoming childhood sexual abuse and same sex attraction” according to an arrest warrant.

The victim said she had a similar experience and began speaking with Sugg as a sort of mentor.

“She did exactly what she was supposed to do, and in return, you have a teacher who violated her in the worst possible way,” said Andrea Lewis, an attorney representing the former student in a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month.

“The case is about not only the abuses she suffered as a result of what happened to her but also the long-term damage that has caused to her,” Lewis said.

The victim alleges Sugg groomed her before the relationship turned sexual.

Then, in 2016, the victim says the school started to get concerned about the relationship, according to the arrest warrant.

It says the school questioned Sugg about the relationship in April 2016. Sugg was fired in May of that year.

The lawsuit also accuses the school of not reporting what they knew or suspected was happening.

First Baptist Church of Orlando and First Academy shared a statement from Dr. David Uth, the senior pastor at First Baptist Orlando, and Dr. Steve Whitaker, the head of school for The First Academy:

“We are deeply saddened to address the allegations of sexual abuse that occurred approximately seven years ago involving a former female high school teacher and a female high school student at The First Academy. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness and want to assure our community that we are committed to the safety, well-being, and spiritual development of our students,” the statement read. “Our top priority has been and will continue to be a nurturing and Christ-centered environment where students can grow academically, emotionally, and spiritually. We understand that trust in our institution has been shaken by these allegations, and we want to acknowledge the pain and concern this has caused in our community.”

The statement continued, “Given that this is an ongoing investigation, we are limited in what information we can share right now, but we will provide additional information as soon as we can. While we must protect the privacy of all involved, we will strive to provide updates to the community as the situation develops and as it is legally permissible. We ask for your prayers, understanding, and support during this difficult time. First Baptist Orlando and The First Academy do not tolerate any form of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. Nothing is more important than protecting the safety and well-being of our students.”

While the lawsuit lists monetary damages they’re seeking,

“This case is about an awful lot more than that,” Lewis said. “I can tell you from talking to my client her concern, her number one concern, is ensuring that this never happens to another young person, another student, again.”

WESH did reach out to the office of the attorney representing Sugg in the criminal case, but did not hear back.

Mike Elfenbein, accompanied by his 17-year-old son Cole, embarked on a python hunting trip they won’t soon forget.

“I think he’s still on cloud nine,” said Elfenbein about his son. “You’ll go 10 times and not catch anything and go one time and everything changes.”

Their encounter with the massive snake unfolded in Big Cypress National Preserve on Friday. What they thought was an alligator turned out to be a monstrous python, and the situation escalated when a stranger in another pickup truck attempted to grab the snake, only to be dragged toward a canal. The struggle to subdue the massive serpent ensued.

“That was when I realized it was either we do something now or this wasn’t going to end good,” Elfenbein recounted. “So I grabbed her by the head and my son had her by the tail. We stretched her out across the road and Carter, Holden, and Tray jumped on top of her to try to hold her down. She literally lifted us up the ground.”

It took the combined efforts of five individuals a grueling 45 minutes to wrestle the snake and three hours to get it safely into a truck.

The massive python, weighing a staggering 198 pounds and measuring 17 feet, two inches in length with a 23-inch girth, ranks as the second heaviest python ever found in Florida.

“There was deer hooves and deer bones inside of her,” Elfenbein. “I think the experts suggested that those hooves and bones have probably been there for two months. Of her 198 pounds, 29 pounds of it was pure fat. She was just massive, she was huge”

This jaw-dropping encounter strengthens Elfenbein’s belief in the importance of converting the area into a federally protected “wilderness designation” to curb the impact of these non-native predators on the ecosystem.

“It’s crazy to me, it’s counter intuitive and contradictory to the nature of conservation to propose restrictions that would prohibit the agencies and the public from being able to access places and provide the management and resources that we need to protect our wildlife.”

While Elfenbein is willing to share pictures of the incredible ordeal, he’s keeping the video of the snake takedown private, humorously noting, “There’s a lot of four-letter words in there.”

The snake in this encounter was only 17 pounds lighter than the heaviest python.

Elfenbein is planning on talking about his encounter during his trip in Washington D.C. where he will be speaking on behalf of the Izaak Walton League of America to talk about protecting the Everglades.

The Senate unanimously approved a resolution condemning Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli citizens and expressing support for Israel’s right to defend itself. Also approved with no opposition were bills to provide $45 million in grants to secure Jewish institutions and other places that could be a target of hate crimes.

The Senate also voted to strengthen sanctions already in place against businesses that do business with Iranian companies, as well as measures to provide hurricane recovery money and expand a program to allow developmentally disabled students attend private school with taxpayer money.

DeSantis has campaigned on his support for Israel. The Legislature passed the measures hours before he was to participate in a GOP presidential debate in Miami, in which foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war are expected to be prominent. The Legislature’s action could give DeSantis additional talking points.

The Legislature begins its annual session in two months, but DeSantis and Republican House and Senate leaders called for the special shortly after the Hamas attacks.

The findings, published Monday, confirm what until now were theories that supermassive black holes existed at the dawn of the universe. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory teamed up over the past year to make the observations.

Given the universe is 13.7 billion years old, that puts the age of this black hole at 13.2 billion years.

Even more astounding to scientists, this black hole is a whopper — 10 times bigger than the black hole in our own Milky Way.

It’s believed to weigh anywhere from 10% to 100% the mass of all the stars in its galaxy, said lead author Akos Bogdan of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. That is nowhere near the miniscule ratio of the black holes in our Milky Way and other nearby galaxies — an estimated 0.1%, he noted.

“It’s just really early on in the universe to be such a behemoth,” said Yale University’s Priyamvada Natarajan, who took part in the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. A companion article appeared in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. “It’s astounding how this thing actually is sitting in place already with its galaxy so early on in the universe.”

The researchers believe the black hole formed from colossal clouds of gas that collapsed in a galaxy next door to one with stars. The two galaxies merged, and the black hole took over.

The fact that Chandra detected it via X-ray confirms “without a doubt that it is a black hole,” according to Natarajan. With X-rays “you’re actually capturing the gas that is being gravitationally pulled into the black hole, sped up and it starts glowing in the X-rays,” she said.

This one is considered a quasar since it’s actively growing and the gas is blindingly bright, she added.

The Webb telescope alone may have spotted a black hole that is 29 million years older, according to scientists, but it’s yet to be observed in X-rays and verified. Natarajan expects more early black holes will be found — perhaps not as far out, but still quite distant.

“We are expecting a new window to open in the universe, and I think this is the first crack,” she said.

The two space telescopes — Webb and Chandra — used a technique called gravitational lensing to magnify the region of space where this galaxy, UHZ1, and its black hole are located. The telescopes used the light from a much closer cluster of galaxies, a mere 3.2 billion light-years from Earth, to magnify UHZ1 and its black hole much farther in the background.

“It’s a pretty faint object, and thanks to like luck, nature has magnified it for us,” Natarajan said

Launched in 2021 to a point 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away, Webb is the biggest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever sent into space; it sees the universe in the infrared. The much older Chandra has X-ray vision; it rocketed into orbit in 1999.

“I absolutely find it amazing that Chandra can do such amazing discoveries 24 years after its launch,” Bogdan said.

This is no Florida man story, as there’s no evidence a Floridian dressed in a bear costume stole the food. Rather, the criminal was a real-life Florida black bear estimated to weigh 300 to 400 pounds, WOFL-TV reported.

The caper happened Friday, and it was captured on the home’s Ring camera. The video shows the beast sauntering up to the front door and grabbing the bag in its mouth. Then, a short time later, it comes back to steal the drinks.

Yo Quiero Taco Bell!

“He came, and he grabbed the food – then he came again for the soda,” Nicole Castro told the TV station.

When the family opened the front door about 10 minutes later, the Ring video captures their reaction: “The bear took the food!”

Uber Eats reimbursed the family for the stolen food, the TV station reported.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the incident at around 2:15 p.m., Tuesday.

The pilot was safely transported to U.S. Coast Guard Station Marathon. No serious injuries were reported.

The verdict signaled jurors believed the prosecutors’ contentions that the defendant, Charles Adelson, paid to have Florida State University law professor Dan Markel killed that year.

Adelson was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and solicitation of first-degree murder, The Tallahassee Democrat reported after jurors returned their verdict Monday afternoon.

Markel’s parents, Ruth and Phil Markel, and his sister, Shelly Markel, attended much of the trial and spoke to a group of reporters after Monday’s verdict.

“This has been a really long and terrible ordeal for all of us,” Shelly Markel said. “It’s taken a long toll on our lives. And there’s a real sense of relief today.”

Adelson’s sister Wendi Adelson had divorced from Markel and shared custody of their two children. She wanted to move from Tallahassee in the north of the state to South Florida to be closer to her family. However, a judge at the time ruled that Wendi Adelson couldn’t relocate without Markel’s consent and he refused, saying she couldn’t move the children to Miami.

Prosecutors told jurors at trial that Adelson paid to have the prominent professor killed and that he used his girlfriend, Katherine Magbanua, to hire the father of her two children, Sigfredo Garcia, to commit the murder. They said Garcia enlisted the help of his childhood friend, Luis Rivera. Magbanua and Garcia were convicted of first-degree murder and Rivera is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against them.

Markel was shot as he sat in his car outside his home.

In a nine-year-old case with many twists and turns, Adelson took the stand on Thursday as the only defense witness at his trial, saying prosecutors got the facts of the case wrong. He said in his testimony that he felt a sense of relief to final tell the public that he was a victim of extortion and not the mastermind who hired the hitmen who shot Markel.

He further testified that he had nothing to do with the killing and that he was stunned when Magbanua came to his home and said her friends were the killers. The dentist said she told him he needed to pay more than $300,000 in 48 hours or he also would be killed.

Prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments that there were far too many inconsistencies with Adelson’s trial testimony.