WEATHER ALERT
Climate change gave significant boost to Milton's destructive rain, winds, scientists say
Read full article: Climate change gave significant boost to Milton's destructive rain, winds, scientists sayScientists say human-caused climate change intensified deadly Hurricane Miltonโs rainfall by 20 to 30% and strengthened its winds by about 10%.
Devastated by Helene, Tampa Bay area prepares for Milton
Read full article: Devastated by Helene, Tampa Bay area prepares for MiltonResidents of the Tampa Bay area were still cleaning up two-week-old damage from Hurricane Helene Monday as powerful Hurricane Milton again put the devastated region in the crosshairs of a major storm.
FDLE cancels missing child alert: Teenage girl โis safeโ
Read full article: FDLE cancels missing child alert: Teenage girl โis safeโThe Florida Department of Law Enforcement asked the public for help on Sunday with finding an 18-year-old Florida man driving a Toyota Corolla with a 15-year-old girl.
Phillies-Braves and Brewers-Mets openers postponed a day to Friday due to rainy forecasts
Read full article: Phillies-Braves and Brewers-Mets openers postponed a day to Friday due to rainy forecastsBaseball season openers in New York and Philadelphia have been postponed a day until Friday because of rainy forecasts in both cities.
Fanatics founder Michael Rubin says company unfairly blamed for new MLB uniforms
Read full article: Fanatics founder Michael Rubin says company unfairly blamed for new MLB uniformsFanatics founder Michael Rubin says his company is being unfairly blamed for new Major League Baseball uniforms that have see-through pants and other fit and design problems.
Florida issues Amber Alert after 8-year-old girl vanishes
Read full article: Florida issues Amber Alert after 8-year-old girl vanishesThe Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert on Monday morning after an 8-year-old girl vanished with a 34-year-old man in Floridaโs Tampa Bay area.
52 sea turtles experiencing 'cold stun' in New England flown to rehab in Florida
Read full article: 52 sea turtles experiencing 'cold stun' in New England flown to rehab in FloridaFifty-two endangered Kempโs ridley sea turtles suffering from โcold stunโ are rehabbing at four facilities in Florida after a flight on a private plane from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts.
Coast Guard rescues couple, dog from disabled sailboat off Floridaโs Gulf Coast
Read full article: Coast Guard rescues couple, dog from disabled sailboat off Floridaโs Gulf CoastA Coast Guard helicopter aircrew in Clearwater rescued two people and their dog, Saturday, about 90 miles off Hernando Beach after their sailboat became disabled, authorities said.
Phillies' Song throws off mound, knows challenges ahead
Read full article: Phillies' Song throws off mound, knows challenges aheadNoah Song has no illusions of the challenges ahead as he approaches the end of his first week of spring training since joining the Philadelphia Phillies from the U.S. Navy.
Song arrives at Phils after Navy grants transfer to reserves
Read full article: Song arrives at Phils after Navy grants transfer to reservesNoah Song threw and performed agility drills on a back outfield wearing Philadelphia Phillies shorts and T-shirt, a far different different uniform for the 25-year old.
Florida man threatened landscaper with assault rifle in parking dispute, police say
Read full article: Florida man threatened landscaper with assault rifle in parking dispute, police sayPolice arrested a west central Florida man accused of threatening a landscaper and his daughter with an assault rifle over a parking dispute last month.
'Dolphin Tale' fans mourn death of film's star Winter at 16
Read full article: 'Dolphin Tale' fans mourn death of film's star Winter at 16Amy Carmichael lives more than 4,000 miles from the Florida aquarium that housed Winter, the โDolphin Taleโ movie star with a prosthetic tail who died this week at age 16.
Beloved โDolphin Taleโ star Winter dies at Florida aquarium
Read full article: Beloved โDolphin Taleโ star Winter dies at Florida aquariumA prosthetic-tailed dolphin named Winter that starred in the โDolphin Taleโ movies has died at a Florida aquarium despite life-saving efforts by animal care experts.
Two of the top 3 best things to do summer 2021 are in Florida
Read full article: Two of the top 3 best things to do summer 2021 are in FloridaTripAdvisor has released their annual list of 'Top 10 Overall Experiences in the U.S. for 2021,' and not one, but two of their must-do activities in 2021 are right here in the Sunshine State.
WATCH: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds news conference in Clearwater
Read full article: WATCH: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds news conference in ClearwaterCopyright 2020 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. CLEARWATER, Fla. โ Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Tuesday at BayCareโs Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater. If you need help with the Public File, call (954) 364-2526.
WATCH: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds education, coronavirus roundtable in Clearwater
Read full article: WATCH: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds education, coronavirus roundtable in ClearwaterCLEARWATER, Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis held a roundtable discussion regarding education and the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday afternoon at Paul B. Stephens School in Clearwater.
Phillie Phanatic, Mr Met, MLB mascots now permitted in parks
Read full article: Phillie Phanatic, Mr Met, MLB mascots now permitted in parksFILE - In this Feb. 23, 2020, file photo, the Phillie Phanatic mascot walks on the third-base dugout while the Philadelphia Phillies played the Pittsburgh Pirates in a spring training baseball game in Clearwater, Fla. โThe fur is back on the field,โ exclaimed Dave Raymond, the playful mischief maker who originally portrayed the Phanatic. No telling yet whether Mr. Met and Mrs. Met need to keep their distance. When MLB starts the season next month, fans won't be allowed in the ballparks. โThatโs what we can do to help, even if there arenโt any fans inside.โ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Florida man stashes meth 'deep' in belly button, police say
Read full article: Florida man stashes meth 'deep' in belly button, police sayCLEARWATER, Fla. - A Florida man has finally figured out what a belly button is actually good for... stashing drugs. Martin Skelly, 41, was arrested Saturday after he showed up at a Clearwater McDonald's with a loaded needle, The Smoking Gun reports. Skelly was transported to jail where he underwent a full body search. Despite telling officers he had no additional contraband during his arrest, a jail deputy found a baggie filled with methamphetamine "wedged deep within the belly button cavity" of the 380 lb. According to the police report, upon finding the drugs in his belly button, Skelly responded, "I was just being dumb and not thinking."
Florida mom raised $4K for son's funeral before confessing to killing child
Read full article: Florida mom raised $4K for son's funeral before confessing to killing childCLEARWATER, Fla. - A Florida woman raised over $4,000 for funeral expenses for her late son before confessing that she had murdered the infant child. Victoria Jackson's 10-month-old son Malachi was found unresponsive in his crib in Clearwater on May 24. Following Malachi's death, Jackson made a plea for help in paying for his funeral on GoFundMe. Jackson was arrested and admitted to suffocating her son with a pillow while he slept. The GoFundme page was taken down and the company will offer refunds to those who donated.
Nursing assistant accused of sexually assaulting patients
Read full article: Nursing assistant accused of sexually assaulting patientsCLEARWATER, Fla. - Authorities say a 32-year-old nursing assistant sexually assaulted four patients including one in a wheelchair and other disabled by a stroke at Florida health care facilities where hes worked over the past three years. Clearwater police spokesman Rob Shaw tells the Tampa Bay Times that Falo Kane was brought in for questioning on Monday, confessed to the assaults and wrote an apology letter to the women. Police reports say two incidents happened in 2016 and two others this year. Pinellas County Sheriffs officials say Kane was arrested on charges of inappropriately touching a hospital patient in 2018. Hospital officials say they suspended him when a patient complained, but they didnt know about his arrest.
Florida man on trial for fatal parking lot shooting won't testify on own behalf
Read full article: Florida man on trial for fatal parking lot shooting won't testify on own behalfSurveillance Video via CNNCLEARWATER, Fla. - The Florida man on trial for fatally shooting an unarmed black man after being shoved to the ground during a parking lot altercation will not testify on his own behalf. Michael Drejka told the court Friday in Clearwater, that he won't testify at his manslaughter trial, which is rapidly moving to its conclusion. Drejka fatally shot 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton in July 2018. In video shown to the jury, Drejka told detectives that after McGlockton pushed him, he feared he was about to be further attacked and severely injured. Prosecutors argue that Drejka started the altercation by confronting McGlockton's girlfriend because she was parked in a handicapped space.
Trump-shaped ecstasy pills bring drug charge for Florida man
Read full article: Trump-shaped ecstasy pills bring drug charge for Florida manCLEARWATER, Fla. - Ecstasy pills shaped like President Donald Trump have led to charges against a Florida man. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says 23-year-old Brendan Dolan-King of Clearwater was charged Friday with felony drug possession after police confirmed five Trump-themed orange tablets seized during a June search of his home were in fact illicit drugs. Authorities say forensic laboratory testing proved the pills to be MDMA, a substance commonly referred to as ecstasy or molly. According to reports, the puckered-lipped Trump-inspired pills that resemble children's multivitamins have popped up across Europe and the United States. Indiana state police in 2018 seized similar orange pills stamped with the 45th president's face and the words, "great again," an apparent reference to Trump's "Make American Great Again" campaign slogan.
2 moms charged in adoption scams were jail inmates
Read full article: 2 moms charged in adoption scams were jail inmatesCLEARWATER, Fla. - Two Florida women scammed two adoptive couples in cases that appear unrelated but started when they were pregnant in the same jail, authorities said. Authorities arrested Angelica Lopez, 30, on Wednesday and Ceara Rae Stowe, 26, on Friday on one and two counts of adoption deception, respectively because Stowe gave birth to twins. In both cases, the adoptive parents from Florida and Nebraska communicated with the women while in jail and after their release. On June 3, Stowe told the Nebraska couple it was time, saying she was excited to complete their family. Stowe gave birth to twins who are now in custody of her mother.
Florida woman scams couple in adoption fraud, police say
Read full article: Florida woman scams couple in adoption fraud, police sayCLEARWATER, Fla. - Authorities in Florida say a woman failed to follow through with an adoption agreement leaving the couple heartbroken and the woman back in jail. News outlets report 29-year-old Ceara Stowe was charged Wednesday with adoption deception. The report says Stowe asked the couple for money, including $2,100 in May for rent. Deputies say when Stowe told the couple it was time on June 3, she never showed up. The report says Stowe admitted Wednesday to taking the couple's money after already giving birth.
Man trespassing at go-kart track crashes, dies
Read full article: Man trespassing at go-kart track crashes, diesCLEARWATER, Fla. - Florida man is dead after crashing while racing his friend at a closed go-kart track. Pinellas Park police say Jesse Outlaw was trespassing when he crashed the gas-powered go-kart into a guard rail. The Tampa Bay Times reports Outlaw wasnt wearing a helmet when he crashed late Thursday. The go-kart wasnt equipped with a safety harness. Showtime Speedway owner Robert Yoho said Outlaw was caught on a security camera trespassing two weeks earlierCopyright 2019 The Associated Press.
Sears to close Plantation store this summer
Read full article: Sears to close Plantation store this summerPLANTATION, Fla. โ The Sears in Plantation's Broward Mall is among the 40 stores that will closing this summer, the company recently announced. The company will be allowing eligible employees to receive severance pay. The company did not say when the store at 8000 W. Broward Blvd. will close. Here is the list of the other stores that will close in Florida:- University Mall, 7171 N Davis Hwy, Pensacola- Countryside Mall, 27001 Us 19 N, Clearwater- Oaks Mall, 6201 W Newberry Rd, Gainesville- Sears Town Mall, 3550 S Washington Ave, Titusville