Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
EPA CHIEF TO TALK ABOUT POLLUTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH DURING MIAMI VISIT
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in Florida to talk about the effects of climate change and pollution on American communities. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is the keynote speaker Thursday morning at an American Bar Association conference on environmental issues. Later, she’ll join Democratic U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Sheldon Whitehouse in Miami Beach, where seasonal high tides have come to illustrate the region’s vulnerability to rising sea levels.
71-YEAR-OLD FLORIDA WOMAN GETS 7 YEARS IN MURDER FOR HIRE PLOT AGAINST DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
A 71-year-old Florida woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for soliciting an undercover detective to kill her daughter-in-law. Diana Reaves Costarakis pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit a capital felony in September. Prosecutors say she offered the detective $5,000 and gave him a $2,000 down-payment in the 2013 murder for hire plot.
NO CHARGES FOR DRIVER PROPELLED INTO ORLANDO DAY CARE IN CRASH THAT KILLED 4-YEAR-OLD
No criminal charges will be filed against the driver of a car that was propelled into an Orlando daycare center after being rear-ended by an SUV. A 4-year-old girl was killed in the accident. The State Attorney’s Office in Orlando said Wednesday that Albert Campbell’s actions didn’t rise to the level of recklessness needed to charge him. Campbell was in a Toyota Solara preparing to turn right onto the private drive of a KinderCare last year when a Dodge Durango driven by Robert Corchado rear-ended the car. The impact propelled the Solara into the day care building, killing the girl and injuring more than a dozen others.
73-YEAR-OLD NAVY VET SENDS CHECK, APOLOGY LETTER TO FLORIDA PAPER FOR PRANK 50 YEARS AGO
A Florida newspaper has received a mysterious check from a 73-year-old Navy veteran. During some high school hijinks more than 50 years ago, Bernard Schermerhorn says he and a buddy stole several newspaper racks from The Ledger. They kept a handful of change and dumped the stands. Schermerhorn recently wrote an apology letter to the paper and sent a $200 check to cover the cost of the newsstands. Schermerhorn, who now lives in La Mesa, California, says the incident has weighed on him. The Ledger plans to donate the funds to a group that helps victims of domestic sex trafficking.
FLORIDA FERN MAY BE LISTED AS ENDANGERED SPECIES
Federal wildlife officials have proposed listing a small fern found only in two Florida counties as an endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Wednesday to add the Florida bristle fern to the endangered species list. The fern is only found in Miami-Dade and Sumter counties in moist, shady areas of exposed limestone. It lacks roots and looks like mosses and liverworts.
