Author: Sun-Sentinel - via RSS feed

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Florida Power & Light over its use of dark money organizations to sway elections. Castor’s request comes on the heels of an Orlando Sentinel investigation showing how consultants working for FPL worked to oust the utility’s foes from elected office; took over and dictated coverage at a publication that presented itself as a news outlet; and followed a journalist whose coverage the company... Read More

The South Florida restaurant that drew the ire of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over its drag-show performances in front of children said Thursday it will continue business as usual. “As of right now we are set to continue this weekend,” said Larry Carrino, spokesman for R House, the restaurant in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood that stands to lose its state liquor license after being labeled a “nuisance” by state investigators. “There are no plans to alter operation while the client and... Read More

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the death of a snorkeler in the Florida Keys because an FWC boat was in “proximity at the time and location the accident may have occurred.” An FWC officer on water patrol was checking two boats Monday near Stock Island on the Gulfside of Key Haven and was told a snorkeler had not come up from the water, according to a prepared statement from... Read More

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. told school officials Thursday to ignore federal guidelines aimed at preventing discrimination against students based on gender identity, saying they would “vastly expand the application” of Title IX. Diaz sent letters Thursday to superintendents, school boards, private-school owners and charter-school governing boards that said guidance documents from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture... Read More

Democratic congressional candidate Maxwell Frost released an ad Thursday that focuses on his confrontation with Gov. Ron DeSantis over gun violence at an Orlando event last month. The ad includes footage shot of Frost at The Plaza Live on June 2, where DeSantis was appearing with conservative personality Dave Rubin. Advertisement “Two months ago, I confronted Governor DeSantis on ending gun violence and what did he say?” Frost asks in the ad, before playing footage of DeSantis... Read More

The union representing Broward sheriff’s deputies filed a bar complaint Thursday against Ben Crump, the nationally known civil-rights lawyer, accusing him of bringing up a racial issue where they say none existed in a case involving the rough arrest of a Black teen. It comes a day after Union Local 6020 filed a similar complaint against Crump’s legal partner, Sue-Ann Robinson. Advertisement Earlier this week, Christopher Krickovich, a former sheriff’s deputy, was acquitted of... Read More

Republicans competing for their party’s nomination to flip a South Florida congressional seat held for decades by Democrats are making the usual, expected pitches to primary voters. As they compete for attention in a crowded field — with seven candidates — most are also embracing a wide range of ideas that have resonance with the “America First” wing of the party, voters who were energized by former President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. Advertisement They’re... Read More

Two men died while out on the waters off the Florida Keys on Wednesday, the first day of this year’s lobster miniseason. It is the second year in a row that two people died on the opening day of lobster miniseason. Advertisement A 51-year-old man from Tampa was snorkeling near Bluefish Channel north of Key West when he “became unresponsive” in the water about 12:30 p.m., the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon. Boaters attempted CPR until... Read More

Editor’s note: Daily coverage of the Parkland trial is being provided to all readers as a public service. Here are updates from Day 36 in the sentencing trial of confessed Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, 23; a jury will decide if he will be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole. He pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Advertisement Search... Read More

A letter in the mail stated the author needed “someone eliminated,” complete with step-by-step instructions for how the receiver could discreetly signal he’d take the $10,000 hit job to kill his ex-girlfriend’s new lover. But the person who received the murder-for-hire letter was a confidential source who used to work for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. And the source tipped off investigators. Advertisement Ryan Hadeed, 43, of Pembroke Pines, admitted in federal court... Read More