Free Republic

Living in Florida is expensive. You almost have to have a side hustle just to get by. But one woman in Lakeland, Florida launched a side hustle so lucrative she made it her full time gig. She makes jewelry out of breastmilk. No breastmilk? She can also make jewelry from cremation ashes, hair, placenta or umbilical cord. Personalized keepsakes. According to Good News Network, Rachel Heinze of Lakeland left her job as “a professional neuroscientist that specialized in concussions before quitting her job to stay at home with the kids.” That’s quite a leap, but she’s reportedly making $30K a...

(CNN) — A Florida mother won $2 million in the lottery, just days after she finished paying off her daughter’s cancer treatment. Geraldine Gimblet, a resident of Lakeland, won $2 million from a $10 scratch-off lottery ticket, according to a news release from the Florida Lottery. She claimed her winnings as a one-time lump-sum payment of $1,645,000 last Friday, the April 7 news release says. Gimblet told the Florida Lottery she bought the last lottery ticket at her local gas station. “At first, the gas station clerk thought there were no tickets left,” she recalled, according to the news release....

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Ten people were injured Monday afternoon during a drive-by shooting in a central Florida neighborhood, police said. Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said during a news conference that two of the victims were critically injured, while the wounds of the other eight victims weren’t considered life-threatening. The victims were males between the ages of 20 and 35. Lakeland is located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Tampa. “I’ve been here 34 years, and I can tell you I have never worked an event where this many people were shot at one time, ever,” Taylor said....

In Polk County Florida, a 30-year-old man is facing multiple charges after his attempt to start a house fire. The man was identified as Luke Neely from Lakeland, Florida. Here is all the craziness that went down: It started Sunday morning when Polk County Deputies received a 911 call at 8:11 AM about a man in a Northlake Neighborhood throwing a "Molotov Cocktail" incendiary weapon at a residence. When police arrived on the scene they witnessed Neely getting into a Chevrolet pickup truck and driving away. The deputies followed him and tried to conduct a traffic stop, but Neely was...

It’s a pump-and-dumps scheme. Four Florida men were busted for installing devices inside gas pumps that dropped prices down to nearly nothing — an alarming trend that officials said will only spread with fuel costs soaring. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said the suspects installed sophisticated “pulsators” inside pumps that regulate price and fuel flow. The devices sent per-gallon costs plunging down to just pennies and allowed pumpers to fill up almost for free. The fraudsters allegedly pulled off the scheme at two separate Circle K stations in Lakeland and Lutz. Rogelio Llerena and Yulier Garcia-Martinez were...

Florida Sheriff Grady Judd, a man who God willing will one day be Attorney General under a DeSantis Administration, is praising a homeowner today. That homeowner protected his home against a home intruder. We've celebrated these stories before. A bad guy does bad guy things. He threatens the life of a good guy. That good guy has a gun. Shots get fired. The good guy isn't the one who is all Swiss-cheese'd up. What really makes this video 10/10 content is Sheriff Judd's vocal defense of the second amendment. "I’m proud of our homeowner for defending himself. It’s called a...

Incoming New York City Mayor Eric Adams can’t get into office quickly enough when it comes to his pledge to restore law and order and beef up the NYPD. After eight long years of Bill de Blasio running the police into the ground, some of the officers aren’t waiting around to see if things are going to improve under Adams. Quite a few of them have continued to either take early retirement or simply quit the force and head out in search of greener pastures. And a bunch of them have already landed in a new home that’s far away...

A contractor who was working at a Florida airport opened up a container to find a live missile. The shocking find happened on Friday afternoon at Lakeland Linder International Airport east of Tampa. It's not known how the missile arrived at the airport which is mainly used for private jets and no longer for any kind of military use.

AUBURNDALE — Florida has one of the world’s most famous asphalt ovals in the Daytona International Speedway. A slightly smaller track recently completed in Auburndale won’t draw massive crowds for races, but it’s part of a project that could hasten the day when self-driving vehicles take over the roads. Crews finished laying asphalt for the 2¼-mile oval — phase one of SunTrax — in early May, and construction will begin in the coming months on infield elements designed for the development and testing of connected and autonomous vehicles. The second phase of SunTrax, a project overseen by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise...

On 3 October 2018, Michael Dunn shot and killed Christobal Lopez, during a struggle where Lopez was attempting to steal a hatchet from Dunn's Vets Army Navy Surplus store. The store is located in Lakeland, Florida. Dunn, 47, was attempting to stop Lopez, 50, from leaving the store while he was holding the hatchet he was stealing. Surveillance video from inside the store showing the last part of the struggle, which ended in a fatal shooting. From tampabay.com: Still pointing the gun at Lopez, Dunn tries to grab Lopez’s shoulder from behind with his left hand as Lopez makes...

An unruly passenger was arrested Thursday morning at Orlando International Airport and the incident was caught on camera. Jeffrey Epstein is charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, trespassing after a warning and disorderly conduct, according to an arrest affidavit from the Orlando Police Department. Police said they were called to investigate reports of an unruly passenger at the American Airlines ticket counter just before 6 a.m. Police said that Epstein began to yell when he saw the officers arrive. After talking with police, Epstein began to calm down, but became agitated when he learned the airline...

Here’s a pro tip: don’t learn the law and the rules of armed self defense the hard way. A Lakeland, Florida gas station owner., Mehedeun Hasan, is in serious legal jeopardy after shooting a fleeing beer thief. An owner of a convenience store in Lakeland has been charged with attempted murder after shooting at a man accused of stealing three cases of beer. Polk County Sheriff’s Office officials said Rennie Defoe, 43, of Plant City, walked out of the Shell gas station on Combee Road North with three 18-packs of Natural Ice Beer without paying Tuesday. The stores owners, Mehedeun...

I was at the Trump rally in Lakeland, and to say the least, it was YUGE!. No comparison to whatever crowds Her Henious can draw bus in. I remember before pro wrestling got big the matches would be held in places like the old Sunnyside Arena in Queens, the Westchester County Center in White Plans,the Hesterly Armory in Tampa and other relatively small venues that had at most a 1000-1500 seat capacity. The cameras would be positioned in such a way as to make these arenas appear larger and more crowded than they actually were. Clinton's rallies are so sparsely...

Wednesday, October 12, 2016: Live stream coverage of the Donald J. Trump for President rally in Ocala, FL at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion. RSBN live coverage will begin at 12:00 PM ET. Watch the LIVE stream of the event below: Wednesday, October 12, 2016: Live stream coverage of the Donald J. Trump for President rally in Lakeland, FL at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. Live coverage begins at 3:00 PM ET. Watch the LIVE stream of the event below:

LAKELAND, Florida - Lakeland police responded to Lake Hunter following a 911 call from fishermen who reported seeing an alligator with a human body in its mouth on Tuesday morning. Police say that the alligator swam away but that they were able to recover the body. According to Lakeland Police spokesperson Sergeant Gary B. Gross, the body appeared to have been in the lake for more than a day and it is unknown if the person was attacked by the alligator. No identification has been made yet on the body which appears to be a male of unknown age. The...

Ask Trump supporters why they back him, and you hear different versions of the same litany: He's not a politician. He's a businessman who can get things done. He doesn't bow to “political correctness.” “He's a billionaire,” explained Deborah Patronik, Richard's wife. “He's saying a lot of things that we're thinking,” said Gil Brown, 54, an African American businessman from Lakeland. “It's so refreshing to hear somebody say things clearly.” (Brown said he wasn't worried about Trump's views on race. “I've been on the receiving end of racism. I know what it's like,” he said. “I'm not hearing it from...

Whitney Marie Beall, 23, of Lakeland, was arrested and charged with a DUI on Saturday after using Periscope, a live video streaming platform owned by Twitter, to broadcast herself driving drunk. Periscope videos are public and can be seen world-wide. Periscope users called The Lakeland Police to report a possible drunk driver using the social media site. One caller told a dispatcher, "She's really drunk. She just hit something. She might be driving with a flat tire. She's in a Toyota". Messages were sent to the driver via Periscope asking Beall to stop driving and to pull over. According to...

Facebook, the downfall of many a cocky criminal, may have reeled in a new one. Logan Hale of Florida's Polk County was suspected of breaking into a home on Aug. 3 and stealing a shotgun and thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry. Police explained all this in a Friday Felons Facebook post that featured Hale, noting that at age 21 he has "been in the Polk County Jail on five prior occasions. SMH." SMH, indeed: Using the Facebook Name "Logan Finallyfree Hale," Hale replied to the post, writing "HELLO here I am" and "Deputies continue to look for me but...

Residents of Lakeland, Fla., probably didn't notice anything odd, but a private plane flying overhead Thursday followed a unusual flight path. Aviation buffs who use FlightRadar24, the popular site that can track planes in flight around the world, got a clearer picture. The plane's path described a the shape of a phallus.

The four men arrested after an armed pawn shop robbery in Auburndale and slaying of two Haines City women were denied bail by a judge Saturday morning. Michael Gordon, Devonere McCune, Jovan Lamb and Terrell Williams will remain in the Polk County Jail and are due back in the court Feb. 17. They made their first appearance in a Bartow courtroom. Gordon, 34, of Lakeland, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Patricia Moran, 72, and her daughter, Deborah Royal, 51, at their home. Investigators said Gordon broke into the house and “viciously” killed the women before...