Good Morning! On this day in 1968, the Florida legislature approved the revised state constitution. It’s been amended more than 100 times since then.
On the travel site Priceline, Miami ranks third in the nation as the “most popular destination” for July 4th weekend, behind Las Vegas and New York. Here are the best spots in South Florida to see fireworks.
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Daytona Beach 🌤️ 90/77° | Ft. Myers 🌦️ 93/76° | Jacksonville 🌦️ 91/79° | Key West 🌤️ 88/83° | Miami 🌤️ 88/82° | Ocala 🌦️ 93/76° | Orlando 🌦️ 94/77° | Pensacola 🌦️ 88/80° | Port St. Lucie 🌦️ 91/77° | Tallahassee 🌦️ 91/76° | Tampa 🌦️ 93/77°
Florida Grand Jury Releases Epstein Records
The transcripts of a 2006 grand jury investigation into sex trafficking and rape allegations of late millionaire and financier Jeffrey Epstein were released by a Florida judge on Monday.
According to the transcripts, Florida prosecutors knew Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted teenage girls two years before they cut a plea deal—long criticized as too lenient—and a missed opportunity to imprison him a decade earlier.
The release came as a surprise since there was a scheduled hearing next week over unsealing the graphic testimony the judge called “sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal.”
A law that took effect on Monday created an exemption to the standard that Florida grand jury transcripts be kept secret forever.
Crack-down on Rampant Card Skimming
The U.S. Secret Service teamed up with local law enforcement in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa in a first-of-its-kind sweep of 472 businesses looking for illegal skimming devices. You can see a ride-along video here.
The joint operation prevented $3.9 million in losses from electronic funds and nabbed 13 skimming devices, often found in ATMs, gas stations, and grocery stores.
Officials warned consumers of these types of fraud and offered tips on how to spot the info-stealing gadgets. Skimmers fit over the original card reader and almost perfectly blend in.
Florida Students Make “Substantial Gains”
According to state standardized test scores released on Monday, a majority of Florida students in grades 3-10 showed a 4% year-over-year improvement in all key academic subjects.
The Florida Department of Education released scores from FAST, a series of standardized exams taken by students in grades 3 through high school.
➤ Miami-Dade: 200 children were found nationwide thanks to a six-week, joint federal, state, county, and city effort to locate missing children, according to state attorneys who held a news conference Monday. (More)
➤ Palm Beach International Airport received $17.2 million in federal grant money on Monday to improve safety and efficiency as part of Airport Infrastructure Grants at 129 airports in the U.S. (More)
➤Miami-Dade:On Tuesday, the nation’s first climate tech hub that launched last year was given $19.5 million in federal funds for training and research focused on reinforcing the coast from rising seas. (More)
Central Florida
➤Polk County:Construction on a new county boat ramp began Monday to provide public access to Lake Buffum in unincorporated southern Polk County. (More)
➤Hillsborough County:Christine Miller was sworn into office on Monday as the newly appointed county commissioner for District 4 in Tampa, which includes the area south from San Jose Street to MacDill AFB and all of Davis and Harbour Islands. (More)
North Florida
➤ Mayport: The USS Mason returned home to Naval Station Mayport on Tuesday after nearly nine months of extended combat operations. (Video)
➤ Micanopy and Jacksonville: A sex store, two strip clubs, and a stripper filed a lawsuit on Monday against Florida state officials after a new law went into effect this week cracking down on human trafficking. (More)
The Panhandle
➤ The state’s Job Growth Grant Fund gave $12 million to the Panhandle on Monday for aviation facilities in Defuniak Springs, a planned housing development in Jackson County, and to train aviation mechanics at Pensacola State College. (More)
➤ Escambia: A judge last week dismissed Bruce Childers’ lawsuit seeking to be placed on the Supervisor of Elections ballot after he was removed by incumbent Supervisor Robert Bender, who is now running unopposed for automatically reelection. (More)
➤ The OrlandoMagic agreed to a five-year $84 million contract renegotiation and extension with forward Jonathan Isaac. The team also announced that free agent center Goga Bitadze is returning on a three-year $25 million deal. Bitadze started 33 games last season in the absence of regular starter Wendell Carter Jr. (More)
➤ Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Taj Bradley racked up a career-high 11 strikeouts in just 5.2 innings on Sunday against the Washington Nationals. (See video)
➤ Florida gymnast Brody Malone has qualified for his second Olympics despite a freak knee injury he suffered in 2023. (More)
➤The Flyover has partnered with the popular online retailer The Grommet to offer you 20% off on all golf products. Check out their unique and innovative products to upgrade your golf game. (See it here)
➤Property Reserve, the investment arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, paid $133 million for a newly completed eight-story rental building called The Ellsworth in Plantation. The deal marks its second South Florida purchase in seven months. (More)
➤ Sarasota-based medical technology company Oragenics announced last week that it has completed a new prototype of an intranasal device to help those who have suffered concussions. (More)
➤ Melbourne-based Florida Institute of Technology annually generates $1.6 billion in economic impact across the Sunshine State, according to a study released last week. (More)
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Liponine was even tested against Metformin AND WON.
➤The funnel of an EF-1 tornado appeared suddenly on a Jacksonville street and flipped a truck across six lanes of traffic last week. (Video)
➤A filmmaker lived among black bears in the Panhandle for more than two years in preparation for his film, The Paper Bear, which will debut early next year. (More)
➤ Sarah Boone, the Winter Park woman accused of killing her boyfriend by locking him inside a suitcase while playing hide-and-seek in 2020, will now represent herself after losing her eighth attorney. (More)
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