Free Republic

Florida drivers who drink too much on Independence Day can have their cars towed for free by AAA. AAA and Bud Light have partnered in the “Tow to Go” program that offers free towing services to any Florida resident on certain holidays, according to the AAA website. The program is meant to protect the streets from drunk drivers and car collisions and will tow drivers and their cars safely home, as long as it is within a 10-mile radius. AAA has safely removed more than 23,000 intoxicated drivers from the roads since 1998. To have your car towed or for...

A shooting at the School of Communications building at the University of Miami has resulted in attempted murder and other charges against a man who identifies as a woman. According to Coral Gables Police, Yasmien Love, 25, went to the School of Communications building Friday with the intent to kill her ex and also kill herself. Police said Love went to the victim’s office with a loaded gun and waited until he arrived at his office.

Two of Broward’s top Republicans are being attacked by a faction of their own party for participating in this past weekend’s gay pride parade in Wilton Manors. The critics are going after County Commissioner Chip LaMarca, the only Republican on the nine-member commission, as he campaigns for re-election in November. They’re also targeting Heather Brinkworth, who was appointed to the School Board by Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Brinkworth is a Republican; School Board seats are officially nonpartisan. She is running to retain her seat in the Aug. 26 election. Their participation in the annual gay pride parade was reported in...

HOMESTEAD, FL — EXCLUSIVE — A Florida couple was traumatized after a dozen heavily armed SWAT agents crashed through their front door, flash-banged their cat, aimed rifles at them and searched their home without explanation. * * * * * The raid took place in the pre-dawn hours of June 10th, 2014. At approximately 6:16 a.m., Kari Edwards and her live-in boyfriend were intruded upon by men dressed in full SWAT gear and wielding rifles. After smashing down the couple’s front door, agents tossed concussion grenades and proceeded into the home. “They busted in like I was a terrorist or...

Florida banned gay marriage in 2008ORLANDO, Fla. —The Orlando City Council is throwing its support behind a lawsuit challenging Florida's gay marriage ban. .......... The city is filing a "friend of the court" brief that is supporting a lawsuit by the city of Miami Beach that seeks to invalidate the marriage ban.

Updating our previous story about a fifth grader told by his teacher he could not read his Bible during free time, school lawyers for Broward County Public Schools have now gotten involved and changed their story. They now say that the time in question is not free reading time, but instead Accelerated Reader Program time. During this period, students can only read certain approved books, and the Bible is not among them. Hence, Broward County Public Schools will continue banning the Bible.

Chris Sevier, a man from Florida, believes he should be allowed to wed his Macbook. Mr Sevier argues that if gays should be allowed to marry, then so should other sexual minorities. Mr Sevier states he has fallen in love with a pornography laden computer. “Over time, I began preferring sex with my computer over sex with real women,” he told a court in Florida. This appears to be not a passing holiday romance, but a lifelong commitment.

A poll released Monday shows that 88 percent of Florida voters support allowing adults to legally use marijuana for medical purposes, bolstering the arguments of advocates who have placed a constitutional amendment on the November ballot seeking legalization. The poll, conducted by Quinnipiac University, indicates widespread support across political and demographic lines — Republicans and Democrats, men and women, young and old — for legal medical marijuana if it is prescribed by physicians. The constitutional amendment needs approval from 60 percent of voters to pass.

This week Liberty Institute continued to fight for 5-year-old Gabriella Perez, who said a school employee told her not to pray over her meal. The school purportedly apologized to the family after Liberty Institute became involved but now seems to be making unfounded public attacks on the girl and her family. As a result, Liberty Institute sent the school another letter—this time demanding corrective action—and it is continuing its defense of the young girl and her family. According to the Perez family, their 5-year-old daughter bowed her head over her food during lunch. A school employee instructed her to stop,...

Officials at Broward County Public Schools banned a fifth grader from reading the Bible during “free reading” time, according to lawyers from the Liberty Institute who are threatening to sue the school for violating the First Amendment.

A fifth grade worksheet in Florida declares that the Federalists were different than the anti-federalists because they “believed in a strong national government that would have power over the states.” The Federalists believed in a central government, but it was to be a “limited government.” The anti-federalists believed that there should be no central government, and pushed for full sovereignty of the states. The Federalists, according to the worksheet, included “John Adams, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton.” While it is true that the Federalists wanted a central, or a “general,” government, the worksheet does...

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL (WFLA) - Our 8 On Your Side story about a New Port Richey soldier who says his home has been taken over by squatters is striking a nerve in the community and now, the squatters are moving out. The house of Army Spc. Michael Sharkey sat almost empty early Thursday morning after two squatters said they moved out the day before. Two dogs left in the house were barking all morning and one of them got out. After an '8 ON YOUR SIDE' investigation, Julio Ortiz and his girlfriend started packing up their belongings at the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With a round pool in the backyard, a Mercedes and a boat in the driveway and a greenhouse and an aviary nearby, the Florida house doesn’t look like it was owned by someone who qualified for public assistance. But it was. While living the life of luxury on a 1-acre manicured lot, Gloria Valle-Clas collected between $305,000 and $377,000 in food stamps, housing assistance and Medicaid benefits. Using two separate Social Security numbers and as many as 12 aliases, she duped government agencies into sending her monthly assistance checks and picking up her medical bills...

The alleged victim reported to police that on April 1 at approximately 9 p.m., she visited Lockette's apartment. Kaepernick and Patton were also there. She said she mixed drinks and prepared shots for them and was told that in order to drink the shots, she had to "hit" the bong, which contained marijuana, according to the police report. She said to police that she began to feel light-headed and went to a bedroom to lie down. Kaepernick, with whom she said she had a previous sexual relationship, followed her into the bedroom. They did not have sex, she told police....

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,A Florida man had a very specific request when he asked a judge to switch up his public defender. Gustav Potthoff, who is accused of attacking his roommate with a butter knife because he thought he looked like Jesus, told an Orange County judge that he deserves to “be with someone of my own kind." Potthoff is an atheist. "It's just my human rights and everything else," said Potthoff. "I'm allowed to be with someone of my own kind." The judge told the 51-year-old that if he wants an atheist attorney, he’s going to have to pay for...

Man started fire to burn bugs in 'deplorable' apartment, report states A man pulled from a fire on Sunday night told authorities that he started the blaze accidentally — while trying to burn the bugs in his apartment, the Orlando Police Department said. Orlando police and fire crews were called to the fire at an apartment building on Lakeview Street, near Lake Concord just north of downtown Orlando, about 11:30 p.m. The man was rescued from his burning apartment and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation, according to Orlando police. An officer who checked...

A 49-year-old woman found herself in a pile of trouble after investigators linked her to apparent human poop in an elevator at the St. Lucie County Courthouse in downtown Fort Pierce. The case against Patricia Ann Jamison, of Lake Worth, got rolling March 7 after court security staff learned of what looked to be "human fecal matter in the corner of the left public elevator by the buttons," according to recently released St. Lucie County Sheriff's records.

Iguanas invade Cape Coral, Florida neighborhood: Reptiles dig seawalls causing safety concernSome residents in Southwest Florida are worried about an iguana invasion in their neighborhood. They say the creatures are digging up holes behind their seawalls -- a major safety concern for some homeowners. Now, some residents are going to great lengths to try and get them out of the neighborhood. "We're really scared," said resident Judy Ross. The reason for Ross' fear? "I'm getting a little bit afraid of the large ones like this one that must five, they're measured from head to tail, he must be five feet...

The names of the six-member jury panel that acquitted George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin have been made public for the first time, after a new court order, records show. Circuit Judge Debra Nelson, who had previously ordered the jurors' identifying information be kept confidential, granted access to the names in a ruling March 21.

A recently revealed video shows a Florida woman's bizarre attempts to train a wild alligator she nicknamed Puppy Puppy. Residents of a senior residence community in Port St. Lucie say they would watch in horror as the unnamed neighbor routinely fed the beast from the edge of a backyard lake and flailed wildly when it came too close. While they once watched the woman's strange behavior from afar, neighbors say the situation came to a head when the gator scrambled up to a patio hoping to be fed a steak from the grill. 'She would bring food back and forth...