Free Republic

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Florida man has pleaded guilty to defrauding more than 30 women of more than $1.3 million by pretending to be a doctor on online dating services, a U.S. attorney said Thursday. Brian Brainard Wedgeworth, 46, who formerly lived in the Florida capital city of Tallahassee and in Center Point, Alabama, used 10 different aliases as part of the scheme, U.S. Attorney Jason Cody said in a news release. "Our citizens should not be preyed upon by fraudsters who steal through overtures of affection," Cody said.

A Florida bridgetender has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly raising a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to Florida before a 79-year-old grandmother walking her bicycle reached the other side. West Palm Beach police arrested Artissua Lafay Paulk 43, at her home on Thursday in connection to the death of Carol Wright, 79. Her bond is set at $20,000 and a judge issued a no-contact order on Friday, according to Fox 13. Paulk is accused of opening the Royal Park Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway on February 6 as the cyclist walked across, causing Wright to plunge 60 feet to her...

Citing Florida’s economic policies and living standards, Wall Street executives are requesting transfers from New York to Florida. Many analysts state that bankers’ desire to move out of New York is creating a headache for recruiters as investment firms attempt to reopen their offices. Job headhunters say banks such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have what is being described as a waiting list of executives looking to move to the Sunshine State primarily because of its lower cost of living, but also because of other quality of life issues including a lower crime rate. Manhattan, where both firms are located,...

Two cygnets later recovered by Orlando policeOnlookers watched in disbelief as a man batted away a mother and father swan at Lake Eola, grabbed their recently hatched babies and tossed them into a red cooler, according to witnesses and video of the incident. Frank Howard said he and his fiancé were at Lake Eola Park Sunday evening admiring the swan family with two babies, known as cygnets, when a man approached carrying a red cooler. The man, wearing athletic wear and sneakers, told Howard he worked for “Lake Eola Park” and was taking the cygnets to protect them from wildlife....

A Florida man made news headlines over the weekend, after encountering an alligator behind his home that weighed more than 1,000 pounds and measured just over 13 feet long. Corey Capps said his ‘problem neighbor’ has been living in the Apalachicola River behind his home in Blountstown for the past three years. And after a handful of encounters, he was finally able to seal the deal on the beast. “Three different times in the last two months, I’ve been back there fishing, and he’s stalked me. So me and him, something was going to give between the two of us,”...

While Florida gains notoriety as the epicenter of the shark trade in the United States, state lawmakers there advanced legislation Monday that would ban the possession of shark fins. The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee endorsed that proposal, as well as another bill that would stiffen penalties against hunters who kill black bears. Spurred by advocates, the committee voted to join other states in outlawing the sale and possession of shark fins, a prized delicacy in some cultures, and a lucrative one.

ORLANDO, Florida — They say elephants never forget. Well, neither does Nick Saban. In No. 9 Alabama's 35-16 Citrus Bowl win over No. 17 Michigan, Saban's Crimson Tide scored a touchdown in the game's final minute. At the time, the Crimson Tide commanded a 12-point lead. Football fans were quick to debate whether or not Saban ran the score up on purpose, digging up an old rivalry between the five-time national champion and Harbaugh.

Friday, September 14, 2018 Democrat Andrew Gillum holds a six-point lead over Republican Ron DeSantis in the race to be Florida’s next governor. The first Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey of the race finds that Gillum earns 48% support to DeSantis’ 42% among Likely Florida Voters. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and eight percent (8%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Among voters who say they are certain to vote in the upcoming election, Gillum leads 49% to 44%.

Rand Paul, who launched his presidential campaign on Tuesday, calls himself "a different kind of Republican," which at this point remains an accurate description. But in his eagerness to win primaries, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky senator runs the risk of shedding the differences that make his voice distinctive and worth hearing. Perhaps the most striking example of politically motivated backpedaling is Paul's recent proposal to raise defense spending by $190 billion over two years with money reallocated from other parts of the federal budget. Four years ago, by contrast, he supported cutting defense spending by $164 billion over five years. Paul...

For those who watched the debate between Rubio and Crist, you can take a poll on who won.