SpaceX Launch Pushed Back
(Cape Canaveral, FL) -- Those hoping to see a rocket launch this weekend may be disappointed. NASASpaceflight.com reports SpaceX had to postpone its static fire test until today. That means a launch that could have taken place Sunday will have to be pushed back. The Falcon Heavy rocket will carry a telecommunications satellite for Saudi Arabia.
Merger Of Harris And L3 Approved
(Melbourne, FL) -- One of Brevard County's biggest companies is getting bigger. Shareholders, yesterday, approved the merger of Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies. The two companies will be known as L3 Harris Technologies and will be headquartered in Melbourne. Once the merger is finalized the new company will be the country's sixth-largest defense contractor and the eighth-largest company in Florida.
Judge: Governor Within His Authority To Suspend Broward Sheriff
(Fort Lauderdale, FL) -- A Broward County judge says Governor Ron DeSantis was within his authority to suspend Sheriff Scott Israel. However, the ruling does not deal with whether Israel should have been suspended for how he handled the Parkland school shooting last year and the 2017 Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport massacre. The ruling now clears the way for a Florida Senate hearing on the merits of the suspension itself.
Child Porn Suspect Commits Suicide In Traffic Stop
(Kissimmee, FL) -- A child porn suspect is dead after he committed suicide during a traffic stop in Osceola County. Forty-eight-year-old Luis Valentin shot himself in the chest Wednesday after being pulled over in Kissimmee off John Young Parkway. Two of his children were in the car, and police were able to remove them safely before Valentin took his life. The children are now in the custody of their mother.
Deadly Helicopter Incident
(Tampa, FL) -- A Plant City man is dead after a bizarre accident on a Hillsborough County street. A helicopter was making an emergency landing, yesterday, in Palm River near South 50th Street and Palm River Road when it hit a telephone pole and the rotor flew off. The rotor hit a truck, and a 72-year-old passenger was killed. The driver of the truck, who's the passenger's son, and the helicopter pilot were taken to the hospital, but they're expected to survive.
Driver Rescued As Car Dangles Off Edge Of Parking Garage
(Miami, FL) -- A woman is lucky she wasn't hurt, or worse, after a frightening situation in Miami Springs. The woman was in her SUV yesterday in a parking garage on South Royal Poinciana Boulevard when, somehow, it wound up dangling off the edge of the second story. Eleven rescue units responded, and the SUV was secured while the woman was safely pulled out after 45 minutes. There's no word on how the SUV came to be in that position.
Saturday Could Be The Real Y2K For Some Older GPS Systems
(Undated) -- If you're old enough to remember the Y2K scare in 1999, you might actually get to see some of the chaos they promised back then this weekend. Some older computers that rely on the 24 Global Positioning System satellites orbiting the Earth could go 20 years out of date at 7:59 Eastern Time Saturday night. When they designed the system in 1980 they only had enough storage space for little more than one thousand weeks. When it hits the limit, which is Saturday, the counters reset to zero. Most utilities and major businesses have been getting warnings of the change for a couple of years.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
1987, the Fox Broadcasting Company began airing programs. The first two shows created for the new network were "Married...With Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show."
1982, Tom Brokaw and Roger Mudd debuted as co-anchors of the "NBC Nightly News."
1955, Sir Winston Churchill resigned as British Prime Minister.
1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death following their conviction on charges of conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union.
1923, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company began production of balloon tires.