FLORIDA SPENT NEARLY $173,000 EXTRA ON SECURITY
A month-long protest at the Florida Capitol is resulting in overtime expenses of nearly $173,000. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Wednesday released a final breakdown of security expenses related to the protest that began three days after George Zimmerman was acquitted.
COURT OKS $35M AWARD FOR FLORIDA SMOKER'S WIDOW
An appeals court has upheld a jury's verdict awarding $35 million in damages to the widow of a longtime smoker who died in 1996 of lung cancer. The 3rd District Court of Appeal affirmed $25 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages against Lorillard Tobacco Co. for Dorothy Alexander. Lorillard unsuccessfully argued the damages were excessive and raised a number of other claims.
MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER BOAT EXPLOSION
Officials say a man was hospitalized with burns in southwest Florida after his boat exploded near the Naples City Dock. The man, whose name wasn't released, was taken to a nearby hospital Wednesday morning. Harbormaster Roger Jacobsen says it wasn't immediately known what caused the explosion, but the boat wasn't fueling or tied to the dock when it occurred.
MAN DIES WHILE DIVING IN FLORIDA KEYS
An Orlando man has died while diving in the Florida Keys. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office reports that 65-year-old Michael White was diving off Big Pine Key on Monday and died just after surfacing. An autopsy will determine the cause of his death.
BODY OF MISSING SWIMMER RECOVERED
Tampa Bay area authorities believe a body that was recovered from the Gulf of Mexico is a man who went missing while swimming on Labor Day. Clearwater police say the body found off Sand Key Wednesday afternoon matches clothing and jewelry that 27-year-old James Poindexter was wearing when he went missing.
SEA TURTLE RELEASE
Coast Guard crewmembers from Station Fort Lauderdale will assist a marine scientist in releasing 300 sea turtle hatchlings, by hand, off the coast of Boca Raton into the Florida Gulfstream.
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