Missing Florida Lyft driver’s car found with Hardee County slaying suspect

The car owned by a missing 74-year-old Florida Lyft driver was found in North Carolina, and the man who was driving it is wanted in connection with a homicide last week in Southwest Florida, authorities said Friday. Lyft driver Gary Levin hasn’t been heard from since Monday when his family says he picked up a […]

Florida recreational marijuana proposal clears initial hurdle

Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the recreational use of marijuana have passed a preliminary hurdle to get on the 2024 ballot, submitting more than enough petition signatures to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of the measure. The “Smart & Safe Florida” political committee, which has been bankrolled by the multistate […]

Punxsutawney Phil’s Groundhog Day prediction: 6 more weeks of winter

A furry critter in a western Pennsylvania town has predicted six more weeks of winter during an annual Groundhog Day celebration. People gathered Thursday at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summoned him from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow. According to folklore, if he […]

DeSantis injects politics into $115B Florida budget proposal

Gov. Ron DeSantis promised tax relief Wednesday on children’s books, pet food and even the gas stoves that have become a rallying cry for Republicans while assuring that the state has plenty of reserves to withstand any economic downturn. He’s also seeking another $12 million to prevent immigrants in the country illegally from arriving in […]

Woman identified 37 years after she went missing in Florida

Law officers say they’ve identified a woman who went missing in Florida and died in south Georgia after 37 years of not knowing who she is. The woman, who suffered blunt trauma to her head and died after being injured, has been identified as Mary Anga Cowan, who went missing in Seminole County, Florida, in […]

Florida could end unanimous jury requirement for executions

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers proposed legislation making it easier to send convicts to death row by eliminating a unanimous jury requirement in capital punishment sentencing — a response to anger from victims’ families following a verdict sparing a school shooter from execution. The proposal comes after a divided 9-3 jury spared Marjory Stoneman […]

Jacksonville highlights conflicts over local gerrymandering

Not far from the postcard images of Jacksonville — the white sand beaches, the riverfront fountain, the upscale shopping district — is another side of the city. Here, neighborhood roads are pitted with potholes and sometimes unpaved. Weeds swallow abandoned cars in empty lots. Grocery stores are sparse. The people who live in this other […]

Black history AP class rejected in Florida catches on

Compared with her other classes, high school senior Kahlila Bandele said a lesson this week spanning topics from Afro-Caribbean migration to jazz offered a welcome shift in perspective. The discussion in her Advanced Placement course on African American studies touched on figures from Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X to Jimi Hendrix and Rihanna. In her […]

Tom Brady retires, insisting this time it’s for good

Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement. Brady — the most successful quarterback in NFL history and one of the greatest athletes in team sports — posted the announcement on social media Wednesday morning, a brief video lasting just under one minute. “Good morning […]

‘Laverne & Shirley’ actor Cindy Williams dies at 75

Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the beloved sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died. She was 75. Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said […]