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Death sentence upheld for Florida man who ordered random murder for ‘body count contest’
The Florida Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of James Herard, who ordered the random 2008 execution of a restaurant worker walking home from a bus stop in Lauderhill. Herard, 34, was sentenced to death in 2015 for ordering the murder of Eric Jean-Pierre, 39, as part of a “body count contest” with fellow members of his “Bacc Street Crips” street gang. Prosecutors said fellow gang member Tharod Bell pulled the trigger, and the gang members laughed at Jean-Pierre as they fled the scene.
Hillsborough hospital reports spike in heat-related illness before Fourth of July
A Hillsborough County hospital is seeing an uptick in emergency room patients suffering from heat-related illnesses and is urging residents to take precautions during the Fourth of July weekend. Early last month, HCA Florida Brandon Hospital’s emergency room saw up to three patients each day with ailments like heat exhaustion,...
Lightning prospect Isaac Howard has that championship touch
BRANDON — Winning has followed Isaac Howard everywhere he’s been, and the past year was no exception. The Lightning’s first-round pick in 2022, Howard was a standout in his first season at Michigan State in points (36) and helped the Spartans go 25-10-3 en route to a Big Ten title. The forward also helped the United States win gold at the world junior championships.
‘Sounds of freedom’ are always on time in South Tampa
TAMPA — The dogs kept racing over the grass, but their owners froze when the music started. Renny Braga held a sweaty baseball cap over his heart and faced MacDill Air Force Base, just beyond the fence of Gadsden Park dog park. “It’s a reminder of where we are,”...
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy explains why talking to Putin is pointless
KYIV, Ukraine — When President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walked into the high-ceilinged, ornate conference room in the presidential office building, the exhaustion on his face was so stark I almost felt guilty about taking his time. Wearing his trademark black T-shirt and olive drab pants, and arriving after a morning...
DeSantis vetoes arts grants, seeing ‘sexual’ boogeymen everywhere he looks
You’ve probably heard the joke about the psychiatrist and his sex-obsessed patient. Every time the psychiatrist showed his patient a set of random ink blots and asked the patient what he saw, the patient said: “People having sex.”. Finally, the doctor says, “You seem obsessed with sex.” To...
GenAI is transforming higher education, and Florida is leading the way
In the past 18 months, one of the most pressing conversations in higher education — throughout the U.S. and everywhere else in the world — has been about the emergence and implications of a technology called generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI. While this technology, which uses AI to...
The Fourth of July is a day of reckoning
Once again, as we find ourselves standing at another Fourth of July, a day set aside to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, my heart swells with a tumultuous mix of emotions. I feel respectful reverence for the lofty ideals enshrined within that sacred document and profound gratitude...
Rays’ Shawn Armstrong falters again, may pitch in less stressful spots
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Reliever Shawn Armstrong still is searching for what’s been wrong with his pitching lately, and the Rays are trying to figure out how to help him find answers. Armstrong had another rough outing Wednesday, issuing back-to-back one-out walks in the seventh inning, then allowing...
Rays come up short against Royals, drop back to .500
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Well, that didn’t last long. The Rays took six weeks to get back above .500 and didn’t even stay there for 24 hours. A 4-2 loss to the Royals on Wednesday knocked them back to even at 43-43 and pushed them to Thursday’s Independence Day rubber game to try to extend their string of consecutive series wins to five.
What’s left for the Lightning to do in free agency?
BRANDON — The Lightning have retooled their roster over the past several days. • General manager Julien BriseBois made a big splash Saturday by trading away Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot to get younger with defenseman J.J. Moser, 24, and top prospect Conor Geekie, 20. • BriseBois used newly-acquired...
Florida health department data captured in cyberattack, hackers claim
TALLAHASSEE — A hacker group claims it has breached the Florida Department of Health and gained access to a large amount of potentially sensitive data on Floridians. The RansomHub ransomware group said in a post on the dark web that it will release 100 gigabytes of department data unless the state pays an undisclosed amount of money. A database of all of the state’s payments to contractors in a year takes up about 0.1 gigabytes.)
Um, who thought acquiring Aaron Civale was (cough, cough) a good idea?
ST. PETERSBURG — Sometimes, baseball fans lose their damn minds when it comes to the trade deadline. Take, for instance, this ill-conceived observation when the Rays acquired Aaron Civale from Cleveland around this time last year:. “While other teams chased bigger names with longer resumes, the Rays acquired a...
Authorities search for person who went overboard in Tampa boat crash
Authorities were searching Wednesday for a person who went overboard when a boat crashed into a barge near the Howard Frankland Bridge. The crash happened about 4:15 a.m. when a 20-foot boat with two people on board collided with a barge near the Howard Frankland, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson.
32 arrested in street racing crackdown on Tampa Bay bridges, troopers say
A multi-agency crackdown on street racing Monday yielded 32 arrests on charges including driving under the influence and fleeing to elude police, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Operation Keep Our Streets focused on the Gandy Bridge and the Courtney Campbell Causeway, where people have been arrested for street racing...
Months after USF protests, accused students push back on punishments
![CDATA[ Victoria Hinckley said she was an assignment away from graduation. Joseph Charry said he may now face visa struggles. The two organizers who participated in April protests at the University of South Florida were not arrested. But they are being accused of breaking university policies and face suspension and expulsion.
Rays trade struggling starter Aaron Civale to Brewers for prospect
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Rays traded struggling starter Aaron Civale to the Brewers on Wednesday morning, opening space to upgrade what could soon be a crowded rotation, saving money and adding a solid infield prospect, Gregory Barrios. The Rays acquired Civale from Cleveland at last year’s trade deadline...
A final bow for Florida’s arts? The impact of arts and culture budget cuts on Tampa Bay
ST. PETERSBURG — Wearing pink tights and blonde hair wound into a tightly bobby-pinned bun, 8-year-old Olivia Keener was ready for dance class at the Academy of Ballet Arts on a recent Monday morning. But when she walked into the studio, Olivia noticed something was wrong. Her ballet teacher,...
Some thrive, some struggle as formerly homeless residents adapt to St. Pete apartments
ST. PETERSBURG – Residents were in the apartment lobby, waiting for a ride to the food bank, when a boy bounded in calling, “Hey! Hi!”. He wrapped his arms around counselor Raina Wagman’s waist and grinned up at her. “Where’s your mom?” asked Raina, 25, stroking his...
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