UPDATE: Missing Florida Children Found Safe, Mother In Custody
(DeLand, FL) -- Two missing Florida children are safe, and their mother is in jail, after they vanished during a custody visit this past weekend. Deputies in Marion and Volusia counties say Margarita Gutierrez and her children, eleven-year-old Isabelle Jones and five-year-old Xavier Espinosa, were reported missing on Friday. They were supposed to be returned to their grandparents, who have custody of them. Deputies say the children were found safe on Sunday, but they did not say where. Gutierrez was arrested.
Florida Man Arrested For Collecting Dead Mother's Social Security Benefits
(Miami, FL) -- A Miami man is accused of collecting his dead mother's Social Security checks for nearly fifteen years after her death. Rose Greenburg passed away in 2004, but her son, sixty-seven-year-old Richard Greenburg, continued to deposit her government checks into the bank account the two shared. Over that time, Richard Greenburg reportedly received more than two-hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars in improper funds. Now, he's facing fifty-five counts of theft of government property.
Atlanta Judges' Panel To Hear Transgender Bathroom Case
(Atlanta, GA) -- A panel of judges in Atlanta is set to hear a case over transgender bathroom policies this week. A district judge outside of Ponte Vedra, Florida ruled last year that a transgender high school senior was allowed to use the boys' bathroom. The school district appealed that decision, so the case will move to court in Atlanta this Thursday.
UCF Sorority On Interim Suspension Following Hazing Allegations
(Orlando, FL) -- A University of Central Florida sorority is temporarily suspended following accusations of hazing and alcohol misconduct. The UCF chapter of Pi Beta Phi was suspended after the university learned of an incident involving hazing, alcohol and drugs on November 15th. A hearing is set for this Thursday. The sorority will be on interim suspension pending the results of an investigation.
New Port Richey High School Becomes First To Dissect Synthetic Frogs
(New Port Richey, FL) -- J.W. Mitchell High School students are now the first in the world to use synthetic frogs for dissection. The New Port Richey high school is reportedly working with SynDaver, a company that develops realistic synthetic animals and humans for surgical training and anatomy education. Biology students dissected their first "SynFrogs" in class late last month, becoming the first students in the world to do so.
UK's List Of Annoying Holiday Tunes Released
(London) -- A new British survey shows Mariah Carey in the Number One spot as far as the most annoying holiday song of all-time. All I Want for Christmas is You topped the poll that was conducted by mobile phone company Huawei [[ wah-WAY ]]. Coming in second is the 1980s Band-Aid all-star charity tune Do They Know It's Christmas? In fifth place is the original version of Last Christmas by Wham! Other songs in the UK-based Top Ten include the Jackson 5's Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Eartha Kitt's version of Santa Baby and the Andrews Sisters recording of Jingle Bells.
Get Paid $1,000 To Watch Stars Wars Marathon
(Undated) -- Call it a dream come true for Star Wars fans. Get paid to watch every movie back-to-back. The company Cable-TV-dot-com is offering a thousand-bucks for what they call a "Star Wars junkie." The winner must watch all 10 movies in any order, which adds up to 22 hours and 25 minutes, and tweet about it. Those interested must fill out a form online by December 10th.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2001, in what became the largest corporate bankruptcy in the US, energy company Enron filed for Chapter 11 protection.
1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy was condemned by the U.S. Senate for misconduct following his investigations of thousands of suspected communists.
1927, Ford Motor Company introduced the first Model A.
1823, United States President James Monroe introduced his Monroe Doctrine. The doctrine declared continents in the Americas no longer open to future colonization by European powers. It also noted that the United States would no longer interfere with existing European colonies or their internal affairs.