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The Clearwater Fire Department declared the crash yesterday evening a 'mass casualty incident' because of the number of people injured (Image: Javier Vazquez)

One dead, others injured in Florida ferry hit-and-run

One person was killed and several injured after a ferry carrying 45 passengers in Clearwater, Florida was struck by a boat, which then fled the scene, local officials said.

US • 28 Apr

Michael Tanzi pictured in 2003 during his trial for the murder of Janet Acosta

'Fledgling serial killer' executed in Florida

A 48-year-old man was executed by lethal injection in the southern US state of Florida for the 2000 murder of a newspaper employee who was abducted while on her lunch break.

US • 09 Apr

Workers board up a business in Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton

US companies hit pause on Florida ops ahead of hurricane

Airlines, energy firms and a Universal Studios theme park were among the companies beginning to halt their Florida operations as they braced for disruptions with Hurricane Milton set to make landfall today.

Business • 09 Oct 24

Loran Cole was put to death by lethal injection (Stock image)

Convicted killer executed in Florida over 1994 murder

A man convicted of murdering a college student and raping his sister while the siblings were on a camping trip has been executed in the southern US state of Florida, prison officials said.

US • 30 Aug 24

Some critics say such a law targeting social media use would violate the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech (Stock image)

Florida moves to ban social media for children under 16

Florida has moved toward enacting one of the strictest bans on children's use of social media in the United States, sending to the governor a bill to keep those under-16 off such platforms.

World • 23 Feb 24

The measure would require social media platforms to terminate the accounts of anyone aged under 17

Florida vote to restrict children's social media access

Politicians in the US state of Florida have approved a bill aimed at barring children aged 16 and younger from social media platforms.

US • 25 Jan 24

Michael Zack was put to death by lethal injection (Stock image)

Convicted double murderer executed in Florida

A Florida man convicted of murdering two women in 1996 was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, local media said.

US • 04 Oct 23

Three major hurricanes have struck Florida in the past seven years

What to expect as Hurricane Idalia hits Florida

Millions of Florida residents secured boats and properties and fled to higher ground before Hurricane Idalia made landfall this afternoon.

US • 30 Aug 23

A man canoes through flooded streets in Tarpon Springs, Florida caused by Hurricane Idalia

Hurricane Idalia sweeps over Florida, heads north

Hurricane Idalia has made landfall in northwest Florida as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm as officials warned of "catastrophic" flooding in parts of the southern US state.

US • 30 Aug 23

People board up a window in Tampa, Florida, as the city prepares for Hurricane Idalia.

Hurricane Idalia may hit Category 4 strength at Florida

Hurricane Idalia could strengthen further into an extremely dangerous Category 4 intensity when it makes landfall at the Big Bend coast of Florida this morning, the US National Hurricane Center said last night.

World • 30 Aug 23

James Barnes was put to death by lethal injection (File image)

Self-confessed serial killer executed in Florida

A self-confessed serial killer convicted of murdering his wife and another woman was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Florida, local media reported.

US • 04 Aug 23

Disney said 'changing business conditions' prompted Disney to reconsider its 2021 plan to relocate employees to a new campus in Florida

Disney cancels plans for $1 billion campus in Florida

Walt Disney is scrapping plans to build a nearly $1 billion corporate campus in central Florida that would have housed 2,000 employees, according to an e-mail to employees, against the backdrop of its ongoing legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Business • 19 May 23

A man tows a canoe through a flooded street of his neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida

23 dead in Florida as Hurricane Ian hits South Carolina

A resurgent Hurricane Ian has slammed into the South Carolina coast, making another landfall after a deadly march across the Florida peninsula that washed away houses and stranded thousands along the state's Gulf Coast.

US • 01 Oct 22

Orange County Sheriff John Mina told a news conference that both parents were on parole at the time of the incident (File image)

Two-year-old accidentally shoots and kills father in US

A two-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his father in Florida after his parents left a loaded gun unattended, local authorities said yesterday.

US • 07 Jun 22

Without Disneyworld, Orange County would probably still be best known for growing oranges

School boards at centre of US culture wars

Across the US, school boards have become the latest battleground in the so-called culture wars - the use of hot-button issues to corral voters into liberal or conservative causes, with the aim of rounding up a bigger group and thereby winning elections.

US • 24 Apr 22

Search efforts will end at sunset tonight if no new information is received, Coast Guard captain Jo-Ann Burdian said

US Coast Guard ending search for bodies

The US Coast Guard has said it will soon call off the search for dozens of people missing from a boat that capsized off Florida last weekend in a suspected human smuggling tragedy.

World • 27 Jan 22

A man was found clinging to the upturned hull of the boat (Pic: @USCGSoutheast)

Dozens missing after boat capsizes off Florida

The US Coast Guard has launched a search for 39 people reported missing when a boat capsized off the coast of Florida in a "suspected human smuggling venture."

US • 26 Jan 22

The Mansion House event in October was attended by 55 Senate presidents and minority leaders

New Irish-US political caucus to be launched in Florida

The US launch of a new American Irish State Legislators Caucus will be held in Florida today.

US • 03 Nov 21

Nikolas Cruz apologised to relatives of the victims

Man admits murdering 17 people in Florida shooting

A 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty to the murder of 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida in 2018.

US • 20 Oct 21

Crews have whittled down the size of the building debris pile from four or five stories to nearly ground level

Death toll in Florida building collapse rises to 79

The death toll in the collapse of a Miami-area condominium tower has increased to 79 after workers pulled the remains of an additional 14 people from the rubble of the building.

World • 09 Jul 21

Cranes mark the skyline where the apartment block stood in Surfside, Florida

Hurricane watch issued for parts of Florida

Tropical storm Elsa is moving over the Florida Straits toward the southern US state after battering Cuba with drenching rain and strong winds, but left the Caribbean island without major damage.

US • 06 Jul 21

An aerial view of the site as the rescue operation continues

Miami death toll rises to 22 as rescue efforts continue

Two more victims have been found in the rubble of a partially collapsed apartment building in Florida, bringing the death toll from last week's tragedy to 22, with 126 people still unaccounted for, officials said.

World • 02 Jul 21

The official death toll of 11 is expected to rise

Biden to visit site of Florida building collapse

US President Joe Biden will visit the site of a deadly apartment building collapse in southern Florida later this week, as rescuers scour the wreckage in an increasingly desperate search for survivors.

US • 29 Jun 21

Rescue teams search in the rubble of the partially collapsed 12-storey condominium building in Surfside, Florida

Engineer warned of Miami building damage - report

An engineer warned of "major structural damage" at a Florida apartment building three years before it partially collapsed, a report said today, as rescuers raced to find 159 people still unaccounted for.

US • 26 Jun 21

Orlando has marked the fifth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting

Florida mass shooting site to become national memorial

US President Joe Biden has marked the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Florida by saying he would designate the club as a national memorial.

Florida • 13 Jun 21