6 Things to Know in Florida for December 25

Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE UNCHANGED IN DECEMBER

Florida's consumer confidence is remaining unchanged. The monthly University of Florida survey released Tuesday shows the state's consumer confidence was the same in December as it was in November. The November rating was higher than October's number, which dipped sharply.

GRINCH STEALS CHRISTMAS IN TAMPA

This "Grinch" really was a mean one. A robber broke into a Tampa home on Monday and made off with Christmas gifts for two children and the family's puppy. Police and dispatchers chipped in and bought new gifts, which they delivered to the home early Tuesday. But the search is on for the puppy named Honey.

ADVOCACY GROUP REBUTS SEAWORLD'S OPEN LETTER

An advocacy group that produced the award-winning movie "The Cove" is taking issue with SeaWorld's defense of its treatment of killer whales. The Oceanic Preservation Society issued a rebuttal on Monday to full-page ads that SeaWorld took out in seven newspapers last week, defending its record with killer whales.

PANHANDLE POLICE SHOOT AND KILL TEEN DRIVER

Florida Panhandle police officer shot and killed a teenage boy after authorities say he ran over an officer who was trying to stop him. The Pensacola Police Department reports that an officer fired into 17-year-old William Goodman's car early Tuesday morning after the teen ran over another officer's leg.

MAN GETS 22 YEARS FOR FATAL DUI CRASH

A Tampa Bay area man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for a drunken driving crash that left two of his friends dead. A Pasco County judge sentenced 39-year-old Shawn Cleaver on Monday after a jury previously found him guilty of DUI manslaughter and culpable negligence.

SUSPECT SLASHES INTO INFLATABLE SANTA

A South Florida family is trying to figure out why a man cruelly slashed their 12-foot inflatable Santa. Alexa Oliva surprised her husband Bert with a brand-new version of the jolly old Saint Nick outside their Kendall home. But just three hours after Santa made his debut in front of the Oliva home, surveillance cameras captured a man running out of a black car and onto their property to slash the decoration.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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