United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Jonathan Michael Rouffe (47, Boca Raton) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to the plea agreement, in 2018,Continue Reading

To protect the health and safety of community members and staff, University Area CDC facilities and properties will be closed through August 9. This includes the University Area Community Center Complex, Computer Lab, Mort Park and Harvest Hope Park. All programming, including Dreamcatchers summer camps, has been suspended through thisContinue Reading

Tampa police detailed the arrest of seven protesters who blocked Dale Mabry yesterday as two vehicles were damaged. Police also issued Notices to Appear to two other demonstrators. Police officials said the protest had grown from 40 to nearly 100 and had blocked traffic for nearly an hour. The protestersContinue Reading

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1061, expanding Florida’s new aquatic preserve about 800 square miles along the Gulf Coast, its first new aquatic preserve in over 30 years. This bill creates the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve, which will protect approximately 400,000 acres of aquatic habitat stretching from Pinellas CountyContinue Reading

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,  the Brickyard 400. Johnson 44, is the first NASCAR driver to test positive for coronavirus and will be quarantined until testing negative. He was tested earlier Friday after his wife, Chani,Continue Reading

Many in Tampa may be joining a new protest set for today: the #BoycottThe4th protest. Co-owner of Tampa restaurant Vegg’d Out Vegan Kitchen, Yourhighness Tafari spoke with WFLA spoke about Independence Day protests, attempting to explain the sentiment. “This is something that publicly stands as a holiday of freedom, independence.Continue Reading

Americans for Prosperity-Florida (AFP-FL) today commended Governor Ron DeSantis for signing HB 7067, a bill that gives educational freedom to almost 30,000 new students a year through enrollment in Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. This represents a full 400% increase in parents and their children given the right to decideContinue Reading

A Tampa man, Muhammad Al-Azhari, is being indicted for assisting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and violating the U.S. firearm laws. Al-Azhari, 23, charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, Islamic State, and violating the National Firearms Act, a ccordingContinue Reading

A Polk County middle school teacher,  Leslie Bushart, was arrested Thursday for having sexual relations with a juvenile, after the boy’s parents notified the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on June 16. Bushart, 49, confessed to another person at a graduation party on June 6 that she performed oral sex onContinue Reading

U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Antonie Latimore (36, Winter Haven) to 10 years and 10 months years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine base. Latimore had pleaded guilty on March 6, 2020. According to court documents, the FBI received information that Latimore, spelled in someContinue Reading

Major League Baseball announced a a 60-game schedule Tuesday night, set to start on July 23 or July 24 without fans in attendance following the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. The announcement by MLB came while more players continue to test positive for the virus. Negotiations between owners and the players’ associationContinue Reading

Universal Orlando laid off an undisclosed number of employees on Tuesday despite reopening its theme parks weeks ago. No details were given regarding departments or business units impacted by the move. “We have made the difficult decision to reduce our Parks & Resorts workforce across multiple locations and business units,”Continue Reading

United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Joel Micah Greenberg (35, Lake Mary) with stalking and unlawful use of a means of identification of another person. If convicted on both counts, Greenberg faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. According toContinue Reading

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office have arrested and charged Terry Knott with grand theft, burglary, and inciting a riot in connection to the attack on Shalimar Jewelers during a George Floyd riot. Knott, 41, was identified when someone recognized his photo from the sheriff’s initial social media post. The burglary happenedContinue Reading

A driver in Holiday jumped the curb, raced through a yard and into the side of a house on Elkhorn Boulevard early Sunday morning, just missing residents, Shari and Rodney Bizier, asleep in their bed. Bay News 9 tweeted about the incident, including a photo from their coverage: “Not quiteContinue Reading

The Florida Supreme Court blocked a voter initiative to ban assault weapons, semiautomatic rifles and shotguns from going to voters in 2022. The Thursday ruling squashed the Ban Assault Weapons Now sponsored constitutional amendment because of deceptive language and the clause grandfathering weapon ownership to the owner only, not theContinue Reading

As a result of Philadelphia Phillies announcing Friday five players had tested positive for COVID-19, every team in Major League Baseball will shut its spring training camp over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The Associated Press (AP) reports that all of the spring complexes in Florida and Arizona will temporarilyContinue Reading

Apple is planning to close nearly a dozen retail stores located in Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina. “Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” an Apple spokesman said Friday in a statement after being contactedContinue Reading