Florida

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Andrew Gillum, the 2018 Democratic nominee for Florida governor, is facing 21 federal charges related to a scheme to seek donations and funnel a portion of them back to him through third parties, the U.S. attorney's office announced Wednesday. Gillum, 42, and co-defendant Janet Lettman-Hicks, 53, face 19 counts of wire fraud. Gillum is also charged with making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. attorney's office said the pair “conspired to commit wire fraud, by unlawfully soliciting and obtaining funds from various entities and individuals through false and fraudulent promises and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose.” Lettman-Hicks then used her company to fraudulently give money to Gillum disguised as payroll payments, the office said in a press release. “Make no mistake that … [Read more...] about Former candidate for Florida governor facing federal charges

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A jury of seven men and five women was chosen Tuesday for a penalty trial to decide whether Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz should be sentenced to death or get life in prison for the 2018 attack, capping a nearly three-month winnowing process that began with 1,800 candidates. The jurors were picked from a final group of 53 candidates by prosecutors and defense attorneys. Those chosen survived three rounds of questioning that began on April 4 and dragged on through numerous delays. Eight to 10 alternates were still being chosen Tuesady. The jury will decide whether Cruz, 23, receives the death sentence or life in prison without parole for the murders of 14 students and three staff members at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. Cruz pleaded guilty in October to those murders and 17 counts of attempted … [Read more...] about Jury is chosen to decide Florida school shooter’s sentence

(BPT) - There is an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Florida, primarily among gay and bisexual men. Since December 2021, there have been at least 24 cases and 6 deaths among gay and bisexual men, making it one of the worst outbreaks of meningococcal disease among this population in U.S. history. Some of the people affected are living with HIV. In addition, 13 of the 24 cases are among Hispanic men. Gay and bisexual men who live in or are traveling to Florida can help protect themselves by getting vaccinated. What is meningococcal disease? Meningococcal disease is a rare, but serious infection caused by a specific type of bacteria — and it can affect anyone. The bacteria can cause meningitis, which is an infection of the lining of the brain or spinal cord. The bacteria can also cause a bloodstream infection called meningococcal septicemia. Both infections can worsen quickly and cause death. Meningococcal meningitis is different from meningitis caused by viruses, fungi or … [Read more...] about What you need to know about a meningococcal disease outbreak in Florida

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The jury that will decide whether Nikolas Cruz should get the death penalty for killing 17 people in the 2018 shooting rampage at a Parkland, Florida, high school was finally selected Wednesday, after a painstaking, stop-and-start process that took nearly three months. The defense wound up using all 10 of its peremptory challenges, eliminating candidates for any reason other than race or gender, while the prosecution used four. On Wednesday, the defense used its final strikes to eliminate a retired insurance company executive and a banking executive who had been tentatively on the panel when court adjourned Tuesday. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer shot down the defense’s attempt to use a peremptory to eliminate a Black man who said during jury selection he did not believe in the existence of “white privilege” — the argument … [Read more...] about Florida jury sworn in to determine school shooter’s penalty

Listen to this article Any car can serve as a police vehicle, even if they are not practical. Dubai is famous for its police fleet filled with supercars from Lamborghini, Bugatti, and others. US police departments are a bit more restrained, opting for Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers, but a department adds something spicier to the fleet every now and then. That's one thing a Florida Sheriff's department recently did. The Escambia County Sheriff's Office in Florida added a C7 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to its fleet. The sheriff's office gave the coupe a new wrap with the department's branding, and it got an upgraded light package. There are police lights in the grille and windshield, the front fender vents, the side sills, and the rear quarter intake ducts. Funding for the wrap and lighting upgrade came from the Escambia County Sheriff Foundation. Gallery: Escambia County Sheriff's Office Adds C7 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 To Fleet 4 Photos … [Read more...] about Florida Police Department Adds C7 Corvette Z06 Patrol Car To Fleet

Medicare could have saved $3.6 billion in a single year if it had bought generic drugs from Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy, according to a Harvard University report. In the report published this week in Annals of Internal Medicine , researchers from Brigham’s and Women’s Hospital with the Harvard Medical School made major claims that Medicare wastes money in the way it buys drugs. Their report estimates the annual Medicare Part D spending on 89 generic drugs is $9.6 billion under the current purchasing model where the government is prohibited from buying drugs directly from manufacturers. “If Medicare purchased generic drugs in the maximum quantity supplied by [Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co.], it could have saved $3.6 billion on 77 of 89 generic drugs,” said the study, which notes the savings came from cutting out drug distributors. Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and celebrity investor on ABC’s Shark Tank , pushed into the pharmaceutical industry at … [Read more...] about Mark Cuban’s pharmacy could have saved Medicare $3.6 billion, researchers find

WASHINGTON - Former president Donald Trump called those who participated in the demonstrations and Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, "smart" during a defiant interview last spring, according to a documentary filmmaker who was granted extensive access to Trump and his family and is now cooperating with the House committee investigating the insurrection. "A very small portion as you know went down to the Capitol, and then a very small portion of them went in. But I will tell you, they were angry from the standpoint of what happened in the election because they're smart, and they see. And they saw what happened. I believe that that was a big part of what happened on Jan. 6," he said to British filmmaker Alex Holder in a March interview, according to a film clip reviewed by The Washington Post. Trump said it was a "sad day" but did not offer a repudiation of the events, according to the footage reviewed by The Washington Post and to the filmmaker. Holder met with Jan. 6 committee … [Read more...] about Trump called Jan. 6 participants ‘smart,’ filmmaker says

The chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas, a group of gay Texas GOP members, resigned from his post Thursday, KXAN reported. Michael Cargill’s resignation as LCR’s state leader comes after the state party ratified a new platform calling homosexuality “an abnormal lifestyle choice” at its Houston convention last week. “These are just crazy people,” Michael Cargill told KXAN on Sunday. “It’s a small minority of people that are being un-Christian-like and spewing this hateful language.” LCR Texas Secretary and Austin Vice President David Garza and President of LCR San Antonio Mimi Planas also resigned from the state board alongside Cargill. Cargill, who owns and operates a gun shop in Austin, will continue to serve as president of LCR’s Austin chapter and pursue the group’s interests through direct interactions with GOP leadership at the Texas Capitol, he wrote in his resignation letter. LCR Texas leadership’s resignations come amid backlash against the state GOP’s … [Read more...] about Texas gay Republican group chair resigns in wake of new state party platform

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 Sabrina Hodak grew up in a Modern Jewish Orthodox family but only truly embraced Judaism at age 16, around the same time she understood she was bisexual. It was an upsetting and confusing time, because the same religious mentors who helped her strengthen her beliefs kept saying her sexuality would conflict with her faith. “That was very frustrating, because I also knew that a lot of other religious people believed that," said Hodak, now a 19-year-old psychology major at Florida International University. In her journal, she kept asking, “Can I please just find someone who’s like me — who wants to be religious and is able to embrace their queer identity?” Hodak found the support she needed by joining Beloved Arise, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to celebrating and empowering LGBTQ youth of faith. It's one of a number of online groups whose members are sharing their … [Read more...] about LGBTQ youth of faith retell their stories to inspire others