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The judge presiding over the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School murder case told attorneys Thursday she wants the trial to start in January. Nikolas Cruz, 20, faces the death penalty if convicted of 17 counts of first-degree murder. He is also charged with 17 counts of attempted murder. With defense lawyers all but conceding guilt, the only legal issue to be resolved is whether Cruz will spend the rest of his life in prison or be put to death. The defense has largely focused on preserving... Read More

With the oldest bar in Hollywood set to close its doors, we asked readers to send us their favorite neighborhood dive bars. The response, over email and on Facebook, was overwhelming, though we seem to all be in slight disagreement over what constitutes a “dive.” In sharing the call for divey submissions on his popular Facebook group, Let’s Eat, South Florida, Sun Sentinel food critic Mike Mayo wrote, “Dive bars, in their purest form, are usually cash only, allow smoking, may or may... Read More

A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors — among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta — broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims. U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said that the evidence he reviewed showed that Jeffrey Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls —... Read More

If you’re in the market for a fake temporary license plate or a counterfeit insurance card you won’t be able to call “The Tag Man,” according to Boynton Beach police. Undercover officers arrested Fedelin Pericles, 36, on Wednesday after buying two fraudulent temporary tags and a false insurance card during three separate transactions, according to the police report. Detectives received an anonymous tip that someone known as “The Tag Man” was providing the temporary tags for $60... Read More

A Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Orlando International Airport Thursday afternoon after reports of a blown-out tire, according to airport officials. Southwest Flight 736, originating from Fort Lauderdale and bound for Denver, made an emergency landing shortly before 1 p.m., airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said. The 737 landed safely without any impact to airport operations, Fennell said. Fennell said emergency equipment and first responders were dispatched to... Read More

It’s been a quarter-century since a cop stood trial in Palm Beach County for an on-duty shooting. That streak is over because Palm Beach Gardens Police Officer Nouman Raja shot and killed stranded motorist Corey Jones during an encounter at 3:15 a.m. Oct. 18, 2015. The tipping point for prosecutors in their decision to charge Raja the following June was the discovery of a recording of Jones’ call to roadside assistance. Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post Nouman Raja leaves the... Read More

Peter Tork, a blues and folk musician who became a teeny-bopper sensation as a member of the Monkees, the wisecracking, made-for-TV pop group that imitated and briefly outsold the Beatles, died Feb. 21. He was 77. His death was confirmed by his sister Anne Thorkelson, who did not say where or how he died. Tork was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer affecting his tongue, in 2009. If the Monkees were a manufactured version of the Beatles, a “prefab four” who... Read More

After would-be buyers looked but took a pass on the sprawling riverfront mansion that was home to the late billionaire H. Wayne Huizenga in Fort Lauderdale, the property is headed for auction next month. The auction of the 20,653-square-foot estate, known for its bell tower and status as a prime attraction for waterborne tourists traversing the New River, will take place from March 26 to 28. Huizenga — founder of the Fortune 500 companies Waste Management, AutoNation, and Blockbuster Video... Read More

The two men at the front door wore dark clothing. One man’s vest said FBI, the other man wore a ball cap with the letters NYC. They may have looked like law enforcement officers when they backed into the driveway of a Miami Lakes home in a Chevrolet Silverado about noon on Jan. 30, but they were “police impersonators involved in a home invasion robbery,” according to Miami-Dade police. One give-away: The pickup’s license plate was covered. Surveillance video released by the agency... Read More

Ever wondered what it’s like to live like a basketball star? Now you could enjoy a taste of the high life in a 3,793-square-foot Miami condominium previously owned — and personally renovated — by Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant. The unit, Penthouse 6307 at 900 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami, was listed earlier this month by the husband and wife team of Michael Light and Jaimee Light of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Coconut Grove. The price: $3.6 million. “A lot of... Read More