Florida State News

Fugitive from South Carolina arrested in Florida

A South Carolina man was arrested in Cocoa Beach Tuesday morning by the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Pocket-dialing 911 leads to Fla. man's murder charge

Authorities in South Florida say a man is charged with murder because he was overheard discussing the killing when his cellphone pocket-dialed 911.

Deputy crashes patrol car, injures 2 others

MANATEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Tampa Bay area deputy totaled a patrol car and hospitalized two other drivers with minor injuries after authorities say she failed to stop for a red light.

Surgeons remove 4-pound hairball from tiger

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- It's not unusual for a cat to get a hairball, but a 400-pound tiger needed help from Tampa Bay area surgeons when he couldn't hack up a basketball-size hairball by himself.

Red hot Florida tourism industry translates into more cash

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida tourism is on a roll right now and state leaders want to keep up the momentum by spending more on marketing.

Florida Lottery prepares for $590 million Powerball winner

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The world is still waiting to hear who bought that winning $590 million Powerball ticket in Zephyrhills last Saturday.

Hulk Hogan does the weather at WTSP, Brother!

Longest serving Florida death row inmate dies

 A man who has been on death row longer than any other inmate in Florida has died in prison.

Zimmerman opposes state's toxicology motion

George Zimmerman's defense attorneys claim that Trayvon Martin's toxicology results are important to the case.

Orlando man killed by FBI had ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect

An FBI agent shot and killed a man overnight in Orlando who had ties to one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, NBC News has confirmed.

Fla. ranked 42nd in nation in per-pupil spending

Florida's per-pupil spending is among the lowest in the nation according to data compiled by the U.S. Census.

Homes next to Florida sinkhole to be demolished

The homes on either side of the Tampa area house where a sinkhole opened under a man's bedroom are being demolished.

Man goes missing while on Keys boating trip

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities in the Florida Keys are searching for a man who went missing during a boating trip.

School districts to dole out teacher pay raises

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida teachers could start receiving raises soon now that Gov. Rick Scott has signed the state budget for next year. The $74 billion budget takes effect July 1.

Veto does not deter backers of bike trail

Gov. Rick Scott's veto of money to build a bike trail across Florida from St. Petersburg to Brevard County is not deterring supporters of the project.

Killed 18-foot python is state record

(NBC News) -- A Miami man pulled an 18-foot Burmese python out of roadside brush and wrestled with it for 10 minutes before cutting its head off with a knife.

Ocala man dies when storm topples tree on car

Police say a 28-year-old Ocala man died when a large oak tree fell on his vehicle during a thunderstorm. 

18-foot-8-inch python caught in South Florida

Wildlife officials say a Burmese python nearly 19 feet long has been captured in South Florida. 

WR Johnson arrested in probation violation

Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson has been arrested for a probation violation stemming from an altercation with his now ex-wife, TV reality star Evelyn Lozada. 

Online support grows for expelled Florida student

The case started in February, but has since garnered national attention for what some media portray as a gay rights issue.

Face-chewing victim continues recovery in Miami

A homeless man whose face was mostly chewed off in a bizarre attack last year in Miami has learned to play guitar as he continues treatment for his injuries.

Florida conducts ambitious hurricane exercise

Florida's emergency management leaders are really creating a complicated and dangerous scenario for their annual hurricane drill this year.