Mick's Morning News with Jorge Medina

School Voucher Bill Passes Senate 

(Tallahassee, FL) -- A controversial education plan is a step closer to becoming law. The state Senate yesterday passed the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. It allows more parents to use taxpayer dollars to send their kids to private schools. Opponents say it's an attack on public education, but Ocala Senator Dennis Baxley says giving more parents more choices is a sign of progress.  

Senate Votes To Change Name Of FSU Building 

(Tallahassee, FL) -- The name of a controversial figure could soon be taken off a building at FSU. The state Senate yesterday voted to allow the school to remove the name of B.K. Roberts from its law school building. Roberts was a state Supreme Court justice who supported segregation. The bill now goes to the House.

Police Officer Fired For Inappropriate Photos 

(Mount Dora, FL) -- A police officer in Lake County is out of a job over questions about his conduct. Mount Dora Police Sergeant Keith Taylor was relieved of his duties last week. Channel 9 reports Taylor is accused of taking inappropriate photos of another city worker. He's also accused of making inappropriate comments to two other city workers.

Giddens Withdraws From Consideration For FSC Job 

(Lakeland, FL) -- A former police chief's plans are being derailed after what's called a derogatory homophobic slur. Former Lakeland Police Chief Larry Giddens yesterday backed out of plans to become Florida Southern College's security chief. The decision came over a week after a Lakeland police lieutenant accused Giddens of directing a gay slur at him while off duty two days earlier. A Lakeland police detective tells The Ledger he was there and remembers the comment, too.

Direct Flights To DC Coming To Melbourne 

(Melbourne, FL) -- Melbourne International Airport could be on its way to accomplishing a long sought goal. Executive Director Greg Donovan told airport officials yesterday that non-stop service to Washington, DC will begin a week from tomorrow. American Airlines will run two direct flights to Reagan National Airport on the weekends in the first direct DC flights in 20 years. Donovan wants direct flights every day, and he told the Melbourne Airport Authority if passengers show there's a demand, American will move pretty quickly to add more flights.  

Tampa Woman Wins Prize For Invention 

(Tampa, FL) -- A Tampa woman is earning praise for an invention that could save lives. University of Tampa freshman Alexsandra Wolfe won a thousand dollar prize two weeks ago for her bracelet, called Puresipity, that detects the presence of date rape drugs. Wearers can dip their finger into their drink and then touch a strip in the bracelet to check for drugs. Wolfe tells Fox 13 News it's a product that's really needed right now. 

Rutgers Engineers Create Air-Water Drone 

(Piscataway, NJ) -- Researchers at Rutgers University are touting their new drone which can both fly and work underwater. The college's School of Engineering released a video showing The Navigator, which Assistant Professor Javier Diez says it's a new device that was not available before. The video shows the drone flying, then dropping into a pool where it then was maneuvered under the water's surface, and it can go back and forth with ease. Diez says applications for The Navigator include bridge inspections and the investigation of oil spills, among other possibilities.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

2016, Apple reported its first loss in 13-years.

1986, Russia's Chernobyl atomic power station exploded, killing 31 people and exposing thousands to radioactivity. The explosion forced a 300-square mile evacuation.

1865, Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was killed in a shoot out with federal troops near Bowling Green, Virginia.


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