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Gov. DeSantis signs three laws aimed at limiting China’s influence in the state

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

(CNN) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed several bills Monday, aimed at limiting China’s influence in the state.One bill bans China and other nations referred to as “foreign countries of concern” from buying land for farming or land that is within 10 miles of critical infrastructure like airports, power plants and military installations. Another law bans TikTok and other foreign-owned apps from government devices and networks. The ban applies to state, county and local governments, as well as state universities. The third piece of legislation prohibits state universities from accepting grants from certain countries.“Today, Florida makes it very clear: we don’t want the CCP in the Sunshine State,” Gov. DeSantis said. “We want to maintain this as the free state of Florida and that’s exactly what these bills will do.”The “countries of concern” listed on the legislation are China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and Syria.

Man arrested after leading police on slow-speed chase in stolen vehicle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

A man is now in custody after leading police on a slow-speed chase in what, police said, was a stolen vehicle out of Miami-Dade County. According to Miami-Dade Police, units noticed the stolen vehicle in the area of Little River Dr. and NW 7th Avenue, Monday afternoon. Officers attempted to stop the Honda Pilot but the driver refused and fled onto the Palmetto Expressway. 7Skyforce flew over the vehicle just after 2:30 p.m. as it crawled on the westbound lanes of the 826. As the SUV slowly swerved across the highway, its right passenger tire blew and began running on its rim. The blowout, however, did not stop the vehicle despite being pursued by multiple police officers. The SUV managed to get off the expressway in Opa Locka and after a short pursuit, the vehicle came to a stop at 134th St. and NW 37th Ave where police were able to safely take the driver into custody. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Attorneys for Trump and E. Jean Carroll dispute character and evidence in closing arguments of civil rape trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

(CNN) — E. Jean Carroll‘s civil battery and defamation trial against Donald Trump neared a close Monday with closing arguments as her attorney told a federal jury in New York that no one is above the law, while Trump’s lawyer said not to hold any negative feelings about the former president against him.“In this country, even the most powerful person can be held accountable in court,” said attorney Roberta Kaplan. “No one, not even a former president, is above the law.”Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said he knows Trump is a divisive figure, but that shouldn’t matter to jurors when reaching a verdict.“People have very strong feelings about Donald Trump. That’s obvious,” Tacopina said. “There’s a time and a secret place to do that: it’s called a ballot box during an election.”“They want you to hate him enough to ignore the facts,” Tacopina added. “All objective eviden...

Florida woman sentenced for stealing drugs from Boston-area hospitals while working as nurse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

A former nurse has been sentenced to several years of probation for “diverting opioids” from two hospitals in the Boston area, according to federal officials.In a news release, the Department of Justice announced the sentencing of Lisa Tarr, 33, on Monday morning.The sentencing came months after the St. Petersburg, Fla., resident pleaded guilty in October 2022 to four counts of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception and subterfuge.Officials said the charges stemmed from incidents in 2018 and 2020 in which Tarr was said to have stolen narcotics while working at two “Boston-area hospitals” that were not named by the DoJ.The first case involved Tarr when she worked as a student nurse in August 2018. According to authorities, she admitted to investigators at the facility that she stole and used fentanyl belonging to the hospital.Two years later at another Boston-area hospital, the DoJ said Tarr stole an infusion bag that contained fentanyl...

Leon Rose deserves credit for the Knicks success

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

MIAMI — No matter how the Eastern Conference semis unfolds for the Knicks, accomplishment will and should matriculate into the postseason narrative.After all, their optimistic projection was for the play-in tournament. The over-under to start the year was 38.5. Then the Knicks won 47 games and advanced to the second round for the first time in a decade.And much of the congratulations belongs to the man behind the scenes.For Leon Rose, the team president of silence and mystery, it was a needed redemption campaign. His summer of 2021 was a disaster, an 0-fer in free agency with copious cap space wasted on Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose.The pre-deadline trade for Cam Reddish was also a waste of a first-round pick.Today, all those players are either gone or out of rotation. Rose’s failing grade for 2021 is settled.But he hit a reversal with his 2022 summer (and into February). Forgetting Rose’s two home runs for a second, the les...

How Dave Barry mixes Florida weirdness, TikTok and treasure in ‘Swamp Story’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

I read 18 pages of Dave Barry’s new novel “Swamp Story” before I began laughing uncontrollably. I’m not going to tell you what prompted this outburst, but you’ll recognize the scene when you get there.At age 75, Barry remains the grand master of American humor writing, having produced more than 50 books, mostly involving anecdotes from his own life. He’s written about wine tasting, skiing and floating in the Dead Sea.Now he’s turned his attention to the Everglades in his adopted home state of Florida in his just-published novel “Swamp Story,” published by Simon & Schuster. The author explained the difference between his fiction and nonfiction writing.“When I write nonfiction, it’s supposed to be funny, so I’m thinking about that and not thinking long-term,” he says. “When I’m writing fiction, I mainly want it to be a good story.”During a phone interview, Barry said he got the idea for the novel after visiting the Everglades, which is the largest subtropical wilderness in the Uni...

No more hospital corners: Mom’s mistake sparks business idea for fitted flat sheets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

As the mother of two Michele Wytas knows the struggle of trying to keep a top sheet on a bed.Every time she would do her final night check on her sons when they were younger, “the sheets would be all over,” despite her having made the beds with tight, folded top sheet corners.Her sons didn’t want to re-make the bed and neither did she, as one bed was up against the wall and had to be pulled out to tuck the corners.With those vivid memories in mind, Wytas would come up with a solution that “I fell upon by accident,” and turned it into a business.Her “Toesty Sheets” – sold in full sets – include a top sheet with fitted sheet corners on the bottom so the sheet doesn’t fall off, yet the toes are free. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Toesty Sheets (@toestysheets)Crowdfunding to expand the business The business is doing well, Wytas said, but she’s launched a crowdfunding campaign to take it to the next level and is looking to partner with a mattress company or other relevant ...

Kia and Hyundai thefts could affect your insurance rate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

How familiar are you with the Kia Challenge?Even if you answered “Not at all,” you may have still heard about the TikTok trend of people hot-wiring and stealing Kias and Hyundais for fun.This was an alarming turn of events for the owners of around 8.3 million at-risk cars, a number estimated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While both Kia and Hyundai have announced software updates to address the issue, many of those vehicles are still unprotected, according to the NHTSA — including the cars owned by both writers of this article.For full transparency: Ryan drives a Hyundai, Drew drives a Kia and neither vehicle is currently eligible for the software updates. So this article is more than just another assignment — it’s also the advice we’re following to protect our cars.What is the Kia Challenge?The Kia Challenge started in Milwaukee with a group called the Kia Boyz. They gained local notoriety in 2021, but found a national audience in July 2022 when a TikTok vid...

SR-78 officially reopening for drivers after extended closure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- State Route 78 is set to fully reopen for drivers Monday afternoon, after Caltrans said crews officially completed emergency repairs to the freeway.The #1 westbound lane opened for motorists at 11 a.m. today, according to Caltrans. All eastbound lanes will open at 2 p.m., just in time for the evening commute.“We would like to thank the community, the cities of Oceanside and Vista, the traveling public and local businesses for their patience and understanding while we completed this emergency work project,” District 11 Chief Deputy Director Everett Townsend said in a release. Safe sleeping, new shelters proposed in Gloria’s budget for homeless solutions The emergency work to the stretch of freeway from College Boulevard to El Camino Real began nearly two months ago, when a sinkhole formed on the westbound lanes amid heavy rain from this year's winter storms.Repairs were initially expected to take a few days, but crews soon found the problem was much bigger than...

Mexican president to hold call with Biden on immigration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:10 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Monday he will talk with U.S. President Joe Biden by telephone on Tuesday about immigration and the fentanyl crisis.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the leaders will also discuss development programs to help stem the flow of migrants to the U.S. border. The conversation comes two days before the end of pandemic-era immigration restrictions that allowed U.S. authorities to quickly expel migrants who crossed the border illegally.López Obrador appealed to migrants not to use smugglers to travel to the U.S. border. “Don’t allow yourselves to be fooled,” López Obrador said during his morning news briefing. “Don’t allow yourselves to be blackmailed by coyotes, smugglers, who put you at risk.”Mexico agreed last week to continue to accept migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua who are turned away at the border, as well as some other migrants from Central America.The Mexican president has previously asked the ...