Democrats are coalescing around Hillary Clinton. Thursday, President Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and nearing the end of a lengthy primary, Democrats seek to unite the party through carefully orchestrated steps to ease Clinton rival Bernie Sanders toward the exit.
————————————————————————————————————————
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court is striking down a law that limits payments to injured workers to two years, ordering instead that the payments should last five years. The court threw out the law in a 5-2 decision stemming from a lawsuit filed by an injured St. Petersburg firefighter who was told he was no longer eligible for payments because he wasn’t permanently disabled, yet his doctors told him he couldn’t work.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Two Florida lawyers accused of orchestrating the arrest of a rival attorney are asking the state’s Supreme Court not to disbar them permanently. Robert Adams and Adam Filthaut are requesting disbarment with an opportunity to apply for reinstatement in five years.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
TALLAHASSSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court is throwing out the lifetime sentence placed on a woman convicted of the 2004 bludgeoning death of a 16-year-old rival. Justices on Thursday unanimously ruled that it is unconstitutional to place a life sentence on Laisha Landrum because she was 16 at the time she committed the crime in Tampa.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
(Tallahassee, FL) — An appeal from Jacksonville death row inmate Paul Durousseau quickly turned into a discussion today at the state Supreme Court over whether all 389 people on death row should be retried or be automatically sentenced to life in prison. Attorney Rickard Kurtiz says his clients sentence can’t stand. The state contends that only about 35 or 40 cases in which the sentence and appeal has not been finalized need to be returned to lower courts for a new sentencing phase.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
State Senator Gwen Margolis will retire after four decades in public service. The 81-year-old announced her decision in an email to media Thursday. It came days after the Miami Herald reported she had dismissed her five opponents as “three Haitians, some teacher and some lawyer” during a meeting with local Democrats. Party leaders demanded an apology, but she has not done so.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
(Tallahassee, FL) — Floridians looking for work could only be a smartphone away from a new job. Employ Florida Mobile launched this week, and Executive Director of the state’s jobs agency Cissy Proctor says there’s 300 thousand opportunities on there. The app can be downloaded in iPhone and Android app stores.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
DELTONA, Fla. (AP) — A central Florida man collapsed in court after a jury found him guilty of killing his girlfriend. Local media outlets report that 43-year-old Thomas Anthony Prins was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
MIAMI (AP) — Two liquor giants are escalating a 20-year fight to secure the rights to sell Havana Club rum in the U.S. when the Cuban embargo finally ends. Bacardi is launching sales nationwide for the Havana Club it produces in Puerto Rico, while competitor Pernod Ricard is expanding the distillery it shares with Cuba’s government to prepare for the day when their brand can be sold in the U.S.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The tallest and longest roller coaster at an Orlando theme park is opening. SeaWorld Orlando’s 200-foot-tall Mako is debuting on Friday with speeds up to 73 miles per hour.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
PALMETTO, Fla. (AP) — Now that Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus has retired its iconic elephants, executives under the big top say they must do more to draw a younger generation of fans, many of whom are glued to their smartphones and screens. So parent company Feld Entertainment is rolling out an app along with a new, space-themed show.