Breaking News
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Sheriff's Office releases sketch of Aquatica attempted kidnapping person of interest
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released a sketch of a man who officials say is a person of interest in an attempted kidnapping at Aquatica water park. A woman reported an attempted kidnapping happened at the SeaWorld water park about 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 12, according to a Sheriff’s Office report....
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Gunmen in Halloween costumes rob bank, are on the loose, Oviedo police say
Three costumed gunmen are on the loose after robbing a bank, Oviedo police said. About 9:40 a.m., three people wearing masks and full costumes and bearing handguns went into the Trustco Bank in the 1500 block of Alafaya Trail, Deputy Chief Mike Beavers said. The gunmen’s garb were “scary” Halloween...
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UF braces for speech by white nationalist Richard Spencer, protests
The University of Florida’s campus is bracing for a speech Thursday by white nationalist Richard Spencer, which is expected to draw protests despite school leaders urging students to stay away. Spencer is slated to speak 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the university's Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing...
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11-year-old boy dead after mobile-home fire in St. Cloud
An 11-year-old boy died in a mobile home fire in St. Cloud Wednesday morning, according to police. Fire crews were called at about 7 a.m. to the Golden Grove mobile home park off Orange Avenue near U.S. 192. The home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters and police officers arrived, St....
More Orlando Breaking News
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Two men arrested in Clermont K-Mart burglary, police say
Clermont police made two arrests after linking stolen jewelry found at pawn shops in Minneola and Winter Garden to a K-Mart burglary in September. Christopher Lee Freeman, 20, and Isaac Fitzgerald Soudat, 18, both of South Lake County, are charged with commercial burglary and grand theft over $100,000,...
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Remains found in Orange County belong to missing mom, officials say
The remains of a woman found in Orange County last month belong to Tia Bonta, the Orange County Sheriff Office announced Wednesday. Bonta, who was 24 when she disappeared, went missing July 31, 2016. Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Jane Watrel said the case has now become “an active death investigation.”...
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Second Winter Park teen in Roger Trindade death charged as an adult
The second boy charged in the beating death of Winter Park teen Roger Trindade is now being tried as an adult, records show. Jesse Sutherland, 16, was booked into the Orange County Jail on Wednesday morning, according to its website. He’s facing manslaughter and battery charges. Jesse is slated to...
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Woman flings nacho cheese at clerk in 7-Eleven dispute in Melbourne
A Florida woman denied service at a 7-Eleven hurled a hot cup of nacho cheese at the clerk, authorities said. The employee told police that Stephanie L. Hicks had entered the Melbourne store just before 2 a.m. last Thursday, the Palm Bay Daily reported. She had ordered a sandwich and a cup of nacho...
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Expert in Luis Toledo's triple-murder trial testifies DNA in blood matched girl's
ST. AUGUSTINE — The DNA of 9-year-old Thalia Otto was found in the blood on a closet door, the master bathroom, on the trunk mat of her mother's car and on a black boot investigators say belongs to Luis Toledo, a DNA expert testified on Tuesday. Prosecutors also showed jurors pictures of items...
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Man hospitalized after stabbing near UCF: report
A 20-year-old man was stabbed at an apartment complex near the University of Central Florida on Tuesday night, according to a report from WESH-Ch. 2. The incident occurred at The Quad off University Boulevard, about two miles from UCF’s campus, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told the TV station....
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Stolen car flies over turnpike toll booth in crash that kills 3
A stolen car careened over a 10-foot-tall tollbooth on Florida’s Turnpike on Tuesday, scattering the bodies of three men who died and a fourth who was critically hurt. One man’s body landed on the roof of the toll plaza’s single-story administrative building and fell to a sidewalk. Another flew...
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'Operation No Tricks, No Treats' prostitution sting in Polk County ends with 277 arrests
Authorities in Polk County arrested 277 people on prostitution and human-trafficking charges during a weeklong undercover sting. “Operation No Tricks, No Treats” included agents from police departments in Lakeland, Haines City, Lake Wales and Winter Haven, in conjunction with the State Attorney’s...
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Man faces assisted-suicide charge in death of Central Florida girlfriend
Alicia Wilemon-Sullivan of Orange City had planned her suicide for several weeks in a series of text messages with her boyfriend in Nebraska, records show. Matthew Stubbendieck, 41, had been dating Wilemon-Sullivan for more than a year and was convinced that she was battling Stage 4 cancer in the...
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President John Hitt touts opportunities, growth at UCF
As the leader of a university with more than 64,000 students, University of Central Florida President John Hitt said Tuesday he frequently hears from people “convinced that because something is big, it can’t be good” “One thing that can’t be denied is we produce really good degrees and we produce...
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Clown jumps out from bushes, boy whacks him with selfie stick, authorities say
An 11-year-old told Volusia County deputies he hit a clown with a selfie-stick multiple times after the blue-haired character jumped out from bushes on Friday the 13th. The victim was biking back from Pine Ridge High School shortly before 6:30 p.m. when a clown with a rainbow painted face, red...
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Orlando elections: District 3 candidates trade accusations as race heats up
The gloves have come off in the race between Commissioner Robert Stuart and attorney Asima Azam to represent District 3 on the Orlando City Council, which now features dueling complaints to the state’s elections commission. On Tuesday, Stuart’s campaign said his son had filed a complaint against...
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Teen accused in Roger Trindade's death now facing adult charges
A 16-year-old boy accused of manslaughter in the beating death of Roger Trindade in Winter Park last year is now being charged as an adult, according to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office. The decision comes after Simeon Hall’s arrest earlier this month in a separate assault case. “I feel...
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UCF police to open comfortable interview room for victims
The University of Central Florida Police Department is unveiling a “soft” interview room on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Courtney Gilmartin said. An interior designer, funded with donations from real estate agent Veronica Figueroa, worked with advocates on transforming the space. Gilmartin said the...
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325-pound Florida woman charged with killing girl by sitting on her
PENSACOLA — Authorities say a 325-pound woman is charged with killing a 9-year-old girl by sitting on the child as punishment. The Pensacola News Journal reports that 64-year-old Veronica Green Posey was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child. The Escambia County Sheriff's...
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Man struck by SunRail train survives, Longwood police report
A man survived after being struck by a SunRail train Tuesday morning in Longwood, officials said. It happened about 8:20 a.m. after a SunRail train left the Longwood SunRail station and headed south, according to Longwood Police Department detective Andrew Arciola. That’s when the train struck...
Other News
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Westboro Baptist Church, known for anti-gay picketing, to protest at Seminole County churches
Some Seminole County churchgoers may be confronted Sunday morning with protesters from Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas-based group that blames mass shootings, hurricanes and other disasters on “sins” it says include homosexuality and abortion. Westboro was last in Central Florida in June 2016,...
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I-4 crash that backed up traffic several miles has been cleared
A crash on Interstate 4 eastbound between Lee Road and Maitland Boulevard on Wednesday morning has been cleared, according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s fl511.com website. The accident, which initially blocked two left lanes, had backed up traffic until State Road 50. Another wreck...
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Florida private schools get nearly $1 billion in state scholarships with little oversight, Sentinel finds
Florida private schools will collect nearly $1 billion in state-backed scholarships this year so weakly regulated that some schools hire teachers without college degrees.
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Orange County approves pedicab regulations for I-Drive
The Orange County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved regulations for pedicab operators on International Drive. The new regulations, which will be in place along the entire International Drive, will create an application and permitting process, require pedicab inspections, establish safety...
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Jolly, Murphy talk to UCF students about combating partisan gridlock
David Jolly and Patrick Murphy could have been opponents in the Florida U.S. Senate race last year. Now, the two ex-congressmen are taking to the road to “pull back the curtain” on partisanship and gridlock in Washington, D.C., in a series of town halls across the state. Murphy, a Democrat who lost...
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Leesburg police Chief Rob Hicks tapped for state violent crime, drug control panel
Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Leesburg police Chief Rob Hicks to the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council. The council originally was created in 1993 to assist local law enforcement with violent crimes and its focus was expanded in 2001 to include funding for drug investigations. The 14-member...
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Polk circuit judge OKs portion of Poinciana homeowners' lawsuit against HOA
After nearly two years of effort, a lawsuit filed by three homeowners against one of the state’s largest homeowners associations is finally moving forward. Polk County Circuit Judge Larry Helms ruled two counts alleging breach of contract can proceed to the discovery stage, though several other...
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Bill Nelson: 'Our fellow Americans are dying' in Puerto Rico
“Our fellow Americans are dying, and they desperately need our help,” U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said in his remarks on the Senate floor Monday after returning from a visit to Puerto Rico. Nelson was on the island Sunday to meet with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello and military and local leaders...
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Former UCF instructor sentenced to prison in child-sex sting
A former UCF film instructor who resigned in 2015 after an arrest in a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office undercover child-sex sting was sentenced Monday to more than a year in prison. Stephen Alan Schlow, 77, appeared in court Monday with defense attorney Mark Longwell, where he entered a guilty...
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ULA, Bigelow partner on launch of habitable pod near moon
United Launch Alliance has partnered with Bigelow Aerospace to launch a livable pod that can support as many as six crew members for extended period of times into space. Officials with the companies say they expect Bigelow’s B330 module to launch “easily by 2022.” The pod would set up in low lunar...