Hit & Run Suspect Arrested (Titusville, FL) -- An anonymous tip is credited with leading police to arrest a hit-and-run suspect in Titusville. Police this weekend arrested 34-year-old Alexander Birmingham for a hit-and-run that hurt a bicyclist last month. The woman on the bike suffered minor injuries. In addition to the hit-and-run charges, Birmingham is also charged with driving with a suspended license, and he'll be in court today.
TS Michael Heading Toward NWFL (Tallahassee, FL) -- Tropical Storm Michael is expected to reach Northwest Florida as a Category Two hurricane as soon as Wednesday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center believes the storm will make landfall between Port St. Joe and Apalachicola. Governor Rick Scott yesterday declared a State of Emergency for 26 counties in the Panhandle and Big Bend.
Murder Suspect Arrested In Clay County (Green Cove Springs, FL) -- An arrest in Clay County could bring closure to a murder in Tampa Bay. Deputies yesterday arrested Ashley Causey for her role in a deadly home invasion in Tampa. A tip from someone in Clay County is credited with leading deputies to arrest Causey. Hillsborough County deputies say Causey and three men broke into a home in May, and the homeowner shot and killed one of suspects.
Gillum Rejects Claims Of Anti-Semitism (Pembroke Pines, FL) -- Andrew Gillum says his life story is proof that allegations of anti-Semitism are not true. The Democratic nominee for governor met voters yesterday at Pembroke Pines' Century Pines Jewish Center to highlight his strong ties to the Jewish community. Gillum says it was a Jewish couple from Chicago that helped bring his parents together, and it was Jewish city commissioner Allan Katz who helped Gillum win a seat on the Tallahassee commission before becoming mayor. Gillum told hundreds, including former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, that his friendship with Jewish residents is strong and enduring.
Painting Sells For More Than $1.3M, Then Self Destructs (London, England) -- An official at a London auction house is claiming they just got "Banksy-ed." One of the mysterious British artist's best-known works was up for auction at Sotheby's on Friday. As the gavel came down on a final price of more than one-point-three million dollars "Girl with Balloon" began to shred before everyone's eyes. There was a shredder inside the frame of the photo and it appears the artist was watching and triggered the shredder as the gavel fell for the final time. Banksy posted a photo on Instagram of the scene with the caption, "Going, Going, Gone." Banksy rose to fame as a graffiti artist. His work is now very valuable. The auction house did not immediately answer questions about what happens to the painting next and if it's new owner will still have to pay for it.
Two-Year-Old Shreds $1,000 His Parents Were Saving (Holladay, UT) -- A couple in Utah says it will make a great story in the future when their son gets married. Ben and Jackee Belnap were searching their home for an envelope with more than one-thousand dollars in it that they had been saving to repay Ben's parents for University of Utah football tickets. Jackee found the money in the family's shredder. It appears their two-year-old son Leo shred the envelope with the money inside. He had helped his dad shred important documents in the past. An official with the Treasury Department said they may be able to get their money back. They have to bag it all up, send it to Washington, DC, and in perhaps two years they will get reimbursed whatever employees are able to verify. No word if Leo will be allowed near the shredder any time soon.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2017, Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was fired from the Weinstein Company following reports of sexual harassment. Over 80 women accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. The outrage sparked the #MeToo movement, which is a social media campaign designed to empower victims of sexual assault.
2001, radio commentator Rush Limbaugh told listeners he was virtually deaf. Limbaugh later had an electronic device implanted in his skull that restored much of his hearing.
1984, Anne Murray became the first woman to win the Country Music Association's Album of the Year Award.
1871, fires over four miles of Chicago killed 250 people and caused nearly 200-million dollars damage.