Florida teacher saves choking boy in social studies class

PORT ORANGE, Fla. (AP) – A Florida teacher is being hailed as a hero after performing the Heimlich maneuver on an 11-year-old student in her social studies class. The teacher, Corey McCormack at Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, told The Daytona Beach News-Journal (http://bit.ly/1GV3UD3) she saw Timothy Monahan stand up last Thursday with […]

Florida legislators want to regulate, not ban fantasy sports

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida may try to regulate the growing fantasy sports industry. Two top Republican state legislators on Tuesday announced they have filed a bill for the 2016 session that would make it clear that betting on fantasy sports in the state is legal. One of the sponsors is Sen. Joe Negron, a […]

Feds predict 8 percent drop in Florida’s orange crop

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a dire forecast for Florida’s orange crop. The estimate released Tuesday predicts that the 2015-2016 orange crop will be down 8 percent from the previous year. Officials predict the state’s orange production will be 74 million boxes. By comparison, in the 2012-2013 year, […]

EU hit by logjam of asylum applications

VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — The European Union’s asylum system is so clogged with applications that it would take a year to clear the backlog even if migrants stopped coming to Europe immediately, EU data showed Tuesday. The applications of more than 770,000 people seeking international protection in the EU were on hold in the month […]

Disney: No more Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – Say goodbye to Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The theme park says in a blog post that the annual event held on consecutive weekends in May and June will no longer be offered because of construction of a Star Wars-themed land at Hollywood Studios. Once it’s completed, […]

Man accused of stealing small motorboat, taking it to Cuba

STOCK ISLAND, Fla. (AP) – Authorities say a man stole a small motorboat from a marina in the Florida Keys, then fled with it to Cuba. Monroe County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Becky Herrin said Tuesday that 38-year-old Shawn Michael Luskey is accused of taking the 13-foot Boston Whaler from a Stock Island marina on Oct. 31. […]

Prosecutor: Man in Facebook killing case had nothing to fear

MIAMI (AP) – A man claiming self-defense in the 2013 fatal shooting of his wife – whose bullet-riddled body he posted a photo of on Facebook – had nothing to fear from her and killed her because she was threatening to leave him, a Florida prosecutor told a jury Tuesday. Assistant State Attorney Leah Klein […]

12th annual Calusa Blueway Paddlesports Fishing Tournament

PINE ISLAND, Fla. – No engines needed here, as Estero River Outfitters welcome anglers to fish and raise money for the Wounded Warrior Anglers, all from paddle boards, kayaks and canoes. The annual fishing tournament takes place on The Calusa Blueway, a 190 mile marked paddling trail that meanders through the coastal waters and in-land […]

Chipotle reopening Northwest restaurants after outbreak

SEATTLE (AP) – Chipotle said Tuesday that it is reopening the 43 Pacific Northwest restaurants it closed amid an E. coli outbreak after tests at the Mexican food chain came back negative for the bacteria. Health officials have not found a cause of the outbreak that started last month but concluded there is no ongoing […]

Authorities: 1 killed in officer shooting on college campus

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) – A vehicle hit a campus police officer at a small, private school in South Carolina on Monday night, and he fired into the car, fatally shooting a person inside, authorities said. The officer was investigating a possible vehicle break-in at Spartanburg Methodist College, officials said. When the officer arrived, two men […]