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When Ann Beal Salamone went to visit her son in prison last week she wore a white T-shirt with “MY VISITS Matter” written in the center of a big red heart. On her way out, another visiting mother noticed the T-shirt and asked where she could get one as well. The two women began to chat and were joined by a correctional officer. “We were all there, I could tell you, thinking about how important it is for our loved ones to have family and friends that care and love them,” she... Read More

The arrests of three men this week, one wanted for attempted murder, culminated with deputies taking two guns and a combined 48 grams of drugs off the streets, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said Friday. What started as a father wanting to see his baby ended with a victim walking to the hospital with a gunshot wound, and the man accused of the crime was arrested Monday, nearly a month after leading deputies on a chase. Advertisement Tony Linares-Gomez, 18, of Pompano Beach, faces... Read More

The newest COVID-19 variant, already dominant in four states, has found its way into Florida and is quickly becoming a larger percentage of new cases. As of Friday, BA.4.6 is responsible for about 10% of all cases of COVID-19 in Florida, according to Helix, which sequences positive test samples. It had only been responsible for about 2% just three weeks ago. Advertisement The newest subvariant has actually been “circulating for several weeks” in the U.S. and was designated by the... Read More

Four years after rising rapper XXXTentacion was ambushed, robbed and shot to death outside of a South Florida motorcycle dealership, one of four men charged in his killing has pleaded guilty. Robert Allen, 26, of Lauderhill, pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon, the Broward State Attorney’s Office said in emailed statement. Advertisement “This was an open plea to the court, with no negotiated deal with the state,” the email... Read More

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw is leaving her $126,456 a year state job to join DeSantis’ reelection campaign. On Twitter, Pushaw wrote, “Now, the gloves are off.” Advertisement Her resignation is effective Friday, according to a a letter sent to the governor’s office chief of staff. “It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration,” Pushaw wrote. The communications office “gave... Read More

HOLLYWOOD — A Hollywood teenager is facing decades in prison now that prosecutors are charging him as an adult with the June rape and kidnapping of a woman walking to work. Terry Berger-Smith, who just turned 15 on Aug. 1, was charged with four counts of sexual battery with great force and one count of kidnapping in connection with a felony. Advertisement Those charges, when levied against an adult, carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Because Berger-Smith was 14 at the time he... Read More

Jared Moskowitz and Ben Sorensen check all the boxes most Democrats want in a member of Congress from South Florida. They’re outspoken in their support for abortion rights, gun control and LGBTQ+ rights. Advertisement They’ve forcefully denounced former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Republicans despised by most of their party’s voters. And both say President Joe Biden should run for re-election in 2024, something many Democrats privately believe he shouldn’t... Read More

You might have noticed a few new reptiles on the block. One’s a flamboyant redhead who very well may have hitchhiked its way into town, the other can walk on water. And though they’re not total newcomers, they’re on the rise in South Florida and popping their scaly heads up in areas where they’ve never been seen before. As evidenced by Burmese pythons and ubiquitous iguanas, there’s a motley roster of nonnative reptile species surviving in Florida — three times the amount of... Read More

An area of low pressure is being watched in the north-central Gulf of Mexico just beyond the southeastern shore of Louisiana, according to forecasters. If the system develops into a tropical depression it would happen slowly over the next couple of days as it drifts west-southwest toward Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center. Advertisement As of 8 a.m. Friday, the system has a 10% chance of developing in the next 48 hours and a 10% chance of developing in the next five... Read More

HILO, Hawaii — Prosecutors in South Florida announced a second-degree murder charge Thursday against social media model Courtney Clenney in connection with the fatal stabbing of her live-in boyfriend. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the charge against the 26-year-old model during a news conference. Clenney was arrested Wednesday in Hawaii. Advertisement Fernandez Rundle said Clenney, who goes by the name Courtney Tailor on such platforms as Instagram... Read More