SpaceX Has Successful Launch
(Cape Canaveral, FL) -- SpaceX is celebrating a successful launch that defied the odds. Launch conditions were only 30-percent Go yesterday at Cape Canaveral, but a brief break from the bad weather made liftoff possible at 6:01 last night. The Falcon 9 rocket should meet up with the International Space Station tomorrow. The rocket's Dragon capsule is carrying a record-high 25 payloads.
Florida's Top Banking Regulator Fired Over Sexual Harassment Allegations
(Tallahassee, FL) -- Florida's top banking regulator is out of a job. Financial Regulation Commissioner Ronald Rubin was fired yesterday over allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct. A state investigator's report determined there is sufficient evidence the allegations are true. Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis voted to dismiss Rubin.
Lime E-Scooters Back On Tallahassee Streets
(Tallahassee, FL) -- You might see more e-scooters around Tallahassee, but not at Florida State University. Electric scooter company Lime announced this week that it's allowing rentals again after putting a virtual fence around FSU's campus. FSU doesn't allow the e-scooters out of safety concerns, and Lime stopped rentals this week until it figured out how to comply with that ban. Geofencing allows Lime to disable the e-scooters should they be taken onto FSU's campus.
St. Pete Scooter Proposal Passes Committee
(St. Petersburg, FL) -- St. Petersburg is a step closer to adopting a new transportation option. A committee yesterday approved plans for a scooter rental program. The proposal now goes to the full city council. The proposal would ban scooters on sidewalks and fine users who don't return the scooters to their corrals.
Falling Metromover Debris Worries Residents
(Miami, FL) -- Some residents are worried after debris fell from a Metromover track in Miami. A man walking his dog yesterday on Southwest First Ave tells 7News he was almost hit by chunks of concrete that fell from the track above. Inspectors assessed the damage and determined the structure was safe. There's no word, though, on what caused the falling debris.
Man Falls Down Volcano On Honeymoon
(Fort Lauderdale, FL) -- A honeymoon in the Caribbean now has an Indiana man in a Broward County hospital. Clay Chastain and his newlywed were hiking in St. Kitts last week when he fell about 50 feet inside a dormant volcano. He suffered a cracked skull and hearing loss, but his wife expects he'll make a full recovery.
Body Chop Shop Details Revealed
(Phoenix, AZ) -- Grisly details of a 2014 raid on Phoenix body donation business are emerging. FBI agents went into the Biological Resource Center and found buckets and coolers of limbs and other body parts, a woman's head sewn onto a man's body and a whole host of other horrors. Many donors and their families believed the bodies were going toward educational purposes and that their loved ones' remains would be treated with dignity. That wasn't the case as many of the bodies were dismembered and sold as parts. The details are coming to light now in a civil suit filed against the business, now closed, and its owner, Stephen Gore. There was zero regulation in Arizona at the time.
Turning Point USA Fires Aide For Fake Presidential Seal
(Washington, DC) -- The conservative group Turning Point USA is firing an audiovisual aide after President Trump appeared on stage at the group's event with a fake presidential seal behind him. The President spoke to the group's Teen Student Action Summit on Tuesday. The fake seal had a Russian two-headed eagle holding golf clubs and cash. The motto at the top translates to "45 is a puppet." Turning Point USA has apologized for the incident and told CNN there was zero malicious intent behind the mistake. A source claims the wrong seal was used because of a Google search mistake.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
1990, President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act. The law bars discriminating against people with physical or mental disabilities.
1984, Montreal Expo Pete Rose tied Ty Cobb's record of all-time career singles with number three-thousand-52.
1947, the National Security Council was established in Washington, D.C.
1947, the passage of a bill called for all US armed services to be under the control of the National Military Establishment. The office is now known as the Department of Defense.
1775, the Second Continental Congress of the United States established the postal system.