DeSantis Discusses Medical Marijuana (Winter Park, FL) -- Medical marijuana supporters have a prominent ally in Tallahassee. Governor Ron DeSantis was in Orange County yesterday to discuss lifting a ban on smokable medical marijuana. At an appearance in Winter Park, DeSantis said if lawmakers don't lift a ban on smokable medical marijuana in the next couple months, he'll take action to remove the ban himself. DeSantis said the voters support medical marijuana, and it shouldn't matter if the marijuana is taken as an oil, an edible or smoked.
Ruling Expected Today In Tallahassee Sunshine Lawsuit (Tallahassee, FL) -- Tallahassee officials could learn as soon as today if it broke the law in filling a city commission seat. The city was sued over how it filled the Seat One vacancy last month. Commissioners appointed Elaine Bryant after a private meeting was held to reduce a list of 93 applicants to nine. The lawsuit claims that meeting violated the state's Sunshine Law, and a judge is expected to hand down a ruling today.
Horse Rescuer Arrested For Cruelty (Mims, FL) -- A woman who was supposed to be saving horses is now accused of hurting them in Brevard County. Deputies this week arrested Titusville's Clairese Austin on charges of animal cruelty. She runs HorseSisters Equine Assisted Therapy and Rescue in Mims, but deputies say they found three horses were extremely emaciated. One horse was put down, but vets are caring for the other two.
Teen Arrested For Pointing Airsoft Gun At Child (Hastings, FL) -- A teenager is facing charges for allegedly pointing an airsoft gun at a child in St. Johns County. It happened this week in Hastings as a 10-year-old boy was walking home on Zigler Ave. Even though the gun was fake, 18-year-old Douglas Sippio, the Third is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Deputies say that's because the 10-year-old thought the gun was real, and a neighbor tells News4Jax the boy is still traumatized.
Men Try And Fail To Disguise 160-Pounds Of Weed In Luggage (Nashville, TN) -- Two men are under arrest for trying to hide nearly 160-pounds of marijuana in their luggage and cover up the smell with air freshener. Metro Nashville Police say two K-9s at the Nashville airport alerted them to four pieces of luggage being unloaded from a Southwest Airlines flight arriving from Oakland. They say there were visible, clear vacuum sealed bags sticking out of the zipper. The two men agreed to open the luggage for police, where the marijuana was found. Both were connecting in Nashville to Jacksonville, Florida. They're facing felony charges.
Immediate Karma For Driver Trying To Take Out Giant Snowman (Petersburg, KY) -- Someone is probably driving around with some unexpected damage to their car after trying to take out a snowman. A family in Kentucky says they built a snowman in their yard over the weekend. In order to make the base of the snowman stronger, they built it around a tree stump. One of the family members says he came home from work on Monday to see tire tracks through his yard that lead right to the snowman, where an imprint of the grill from a vehicle could be seen. The driver likely wanted to drive over it, but ended up with a huge dose of instant karma when they slammed into the hidden tree stump.
Japan Robot Hotel Fires Robot Workers (Nagasaki, Japan) -- A Japanese robot hotel is canning more than half the robots working there. It turns out they aren't very good workers. The more than 240 robots frequently caused more problems than they solved at the hotel in Nagasaki. The hotel's manager and the company president have acknowledged problems that include check-in robots that need help, concierge robots that are clueless, luggage carriers that have trouble getting to rooms, and entertainment bots that break down. The name of the hotel is Henn-na, which means strange or weird in Japanese.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2000, "Spin City" star Michael J. Fox announced plans to leave his ABC sitcom as he fights Parkinson's disease.
1993, the Martin Luther King Junior holiday was observed by all 50 states for the first time.
1990, Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for smoking crack cocaine.
1957, the first, nonstop, around-the-world jet flight ended in Riverside, California.