Disney lets it go, donates ‘Frozen’ costumes to Florida kids

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – It may be a “Frozen” Halloween across parts of central Florida, thanks to Disney’s large donation of costumes to area school children. The Orlando Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1MyM992 ) reports that Disney needed space for new stock in its warehouses, so it donated costumes from the 2013 Oscar-winning movie to schools in Lake, […]

US Navy to search for ship lost off in storm off Bahamas

MIAMI (AP) – A U.S. Navy vessel was expected to depart Monday on a search for a missing cargo ship that was lost in the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 crew members on board. The USNS Apache will be taking equipment and investigators to an area near Crooked Island in the southeastern Bahamas […]

Florida legislators already at odds over new Senate maps

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida’s Republican-led Legislature, which has split this year over everything from health care spending to new congressional districts, could be engulfed in a new political firestorm. Legislators opened up a 19-day special session on Monday with the goal of redrawing state senate districts. Legislative leaders called the special session after the […]

Drone close calls spur government to require registration

WASHINGTON (AP) – Concerned about rising reports of close calls and safety risks involving drones, the government announced Monday it will require many of the increasingly popular unmanned aircraft to be registered. Pilot sightings of drones have doubled since last year, including near manned airplanes and at major sporting events, and there are reports of […]

Texas cuts off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas announced Monday that it was cutting off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood clinics following undercover videos featuring discussions about fetal tissue, potentially triggering a federal court fight like one unfolding in neighboring Louisiana. Planned Parenthood affiliates statewide were told in a letter they were being cut off because they were […]

US appeals court upholds gun laws after Newtown massacre

NEW YORK (AP) – Gun control laws passed in New York and Connecticut to ban possession of semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School were mostly upheld Monday by a federal appeals court. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan found core parts of the laws […]

Bigger bite for health law penalty on uninsured

WASHINGTON (AP) — The math is harsh: The federal penalty for having no health insurance is set to jump to $695, and the Obama administration is being urged to highlight that cold fact to help drive its new pitch for health law sign-ups. That means the 2016 sign-up season starting Nov. 1 could see penalties […]

Father of baby Chance Walsh extradited, faces murder charge

SARASOTA, Fla. – The father of baby Chance Walsh is on his way back to Florida. Joseph Walsh left the Jasper County Jail, in South Carolina, Sunday around 9:45PM. Officials say the drive usually takes around seven hours but would not say which route they would be taking. Chance’s mother, Kristen Bury, 32, is facing a […]

Oprah paying $43.2M for Weight Watchers stake, joining board

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey is taking a 10 percent stake in Weight Watchers for about $43.2 million and is joining the weight management company’s board. Weight Watchers International Inc. said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that as part of the agreement, Winfrey has given the company the […]

Chinese cyberattacks on US companies continue, report says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese hacking attempts on American corporate intellectual property have occurred with regularity over the past three weeks, suggesting that China almost immediately began violating its newly minted cyberagreement with the United States, according to a newly published analysis by a cybersecurity company with close ties to the U.S. government. The Irvine, California-based […]