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A park ranger furloughed during the partial federal government shutdown has claimed a $29.5 million lottery jackpot. The New Jersey Lottery on Wednesday announced Judith Smith had purchased the winning Dec. 17 Pick-6 ticket days before the shutdown closed the Fort Wadsworth recreation area in Staten Island, New York. The Bayonne, New Jersey, resident and her two children put the ticket in a safe place while seeking legal and financial advice before claiming the jackpot. The Pick-6 jackpot... Read More

Flames lit up the sky above a warehouse in a Tamarac industrial park near Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Wednesday night. The 3-alarm blaze happened about 8 p.m. in the 2800 block of Northwest 55th Court, officials said. Nearly 40 firefighters from Tamarac, Fort Lauderdale, Lauderhill, North Lauderdale, Plantation, Coral Springs, Margate, and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue combined efforts to control the heavy smoke and flames during an operation that lasted several hours. There were no... Read More

You weren’t hungry enough to order the entree, but you still had to order that bottle of your favorite wine. And now you want to go home, but your waiter says you can’t take the rest of the bottle because you didn’t order a full meal. Help might be on the way, in a state Senate bill sponsored by Republican Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg. Under the current “Merlot to go” law enacted in Florida in 2005, anyone wishing to take the rest of their wine home can only do so if they... Read More

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was arrested Thursday in Chicago after he was charged with filing a false police report claiming he had been the victim of an attack, police said. Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed Thursday that Smollett was in the custody of detectives. Police planned to hold a briefing Thursday to discuss the case. Guglielmi had said Wednesday night that detectives would make contact with Smollett’s legal team to “negotiate a reasonable... Read More

Q: I live in a 55+ community that does not allow pets. Now there are many dogs in the community claiming to be emotional support animals. Can we put a stop to this? — Debbie Q: In our no-pet community, the folks with ESA dogs allow them to run wild, using the whole property as their toilet. I get that we have to allow them their ESAs, but don’t they have to follow the rules still? — B. A: The rules that govern an emotional support animal, or “ESA,” are different from those for... 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

The circumstances that led to at least one Broward sheriff’s deputy shooting and wounding an armed Dania Beach woman who charged at them on Wednesday morning keep changing. At first, Kim Nguyen Cholak was armed with a meat cleaver and chasing another woman when deputies arrived at 103 NE Third St. at about 11:05 a.m., according to Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony. Then the meat cleaver was changed to a knife, according to a late-afternoon update from the Sheriff’s Office. Then, after... Read More

An Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria won’t be allowed to return to the United States with her toddler son because she is not an American citizen, the U.S. said Wednesday. Her lawyer is challenging that claim. In a brief statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave no details as to how the administration made their determination. “Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States,” he said. “She does not... Read More

A year after the Parkland shooting, the Broward County School Board made good on its promise to enact policies to help prevent the same types of failures that contributed to the deaths of 17 people. The School Board adopted policies Wednesday that identify when school staff must call for a Code Red lockdown, as well requiring classrooms to be equipped with places for students to hide from an active shooter. But that doesn’t mean the work is over. The board still faces challenges in making... Read More

A plan for oil drilling in the Everglades ran into a major obstacle Wednesday, when the state of Florida went to court to stop it and promised to assist local governments in their own fight against the project. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection asked for a rehearing before all the judges of the First District Court of Appeal, where a three-judge panel had ordered the state to issue a drilling permit to Kanter Real Estate LLC for a spot in the Everglades of western Broward... Read More