Vote on Impeachment Articles Set For Today
(Washington, DC) -- US House members will cast what may be the biggest votes of their careers today. The House Judiciary Committee will vote on articles of impeachment against President Trump. Tenth District Democrat Val Demings, who sits on the committee, Tweeted yesterday that Trump used his office to serve himself and in doing so threatened our national security and our elections. Seventeenth District Republican Greg Steube, who also sits on the committee, says Democrats are making absurd claims that simply aren't true.
State Lawmakers Review Palm Bay I-95 Interchange
(Tallahassee, FL) -- Some city leaders in Brevard County are accused of dropping the ball on a transportation project. State Senator Tom Lee said as much yesterday while discussing Palm Bay's I-95 interchange. The interchange near Babcock Street and the St. Johns Heritage Parkway was finished months ago, but it has yet to open. City Manager Lisa Morrell told Lee and other state lawmakers she'd like to see a forensic audit be done to get some answers.
Florida Lawmakers Consider Paid Family Leave Bills
(Tallahassee, FL) -- Legislation creating paid family leave for new parents is being considered in the Florida House and Senate. The bills would require businesses to give employees up to three months of paid maternity or paternity leave following the birth, adoption or fostering of a child. To qualify, workers must be employed at a company for at least 18-months. The Senate bill notes that the majority of workers in Florida are unable to take family leave because they can't afford to take time off without pay.
Trio Charged In String Of Florida Jewelry Store Heights
(Brooksville, FL) -- Three men are facing charges in connection with a string of jewelry store robberies across Florida. The Hernando County Sheriff's Office says the trio is responsible for 23 burglaries between 2011 and 2017 in which about 16-million-dollars in jewelry was taken. The men are identified as Michael Ornelas, William Granims and Matthew Petruccelli. They were arrested after they allegedly tried to burglarize another store in Illinois last year.
NASA Finds Water Just Below Surface Of Mars
(Washington, DC) -- There's new proof that life on Mars is possible. NASA has made a groundbreaking discovery of water just an inch below the surface. It's a big sheet of ice buried on the Red Planet. Scientists found it while scouting the best places for astronauts to land. They say it could help people survive there, though most water on the surface evaporates quickly.
Today Is 2019's Second Friday The 13th
(Undated) -- Let the superstitions begin. Today is Friday the 13th and it's the second one this year, separated by exactly 13 weeks. And there's more. The next one happens in March, also in exactly 13 weeks. There's always at least one Friday the 13th a year but some can have up to three. The last one was in 2015 and the next will be in 2026. There is an easy to way to remember without looking at a calendar. Any month starting on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th.
Hacker Taunts Tennessee Girl Through Ring Camera
(Memphis, TN) -- The company behind the Ring security cameras is investigating after one Tennessee family complained about a recent hacking incident. The parents of eight-year-old Alyssa LeMay say someone hacked into the Ring camera inside of her room at their Memphis home. LeMay told her parents she heard Christmas music and a man's voice coming out of the camera, saying he was Santa Claus and wanted to be her best friend. Her parents said they watched the footage and heard the voice encouraging their daughter to engage in destructive behavior. A Ring spokesperson says the system was not breached, so it was mostly likely linked to stolen credentials from other services with similar usernames and passwords.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2015, a woman was elected to public office in Saudi Arabia for the first time.
2007, a report on steroid use in Major League Baseball named more than 80 MLB players as possible users of performance-enhancing drugs. The report was based on 20 months of investigation led by former Senator George Mitchell.
2003, after months in hiding, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured in the basement of a farmhouse south of his hometown of Tikrit.
2000, Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency five weeks after Election Day and a day after the U.S. Supreme Court shut down further recounts of disputed ballots in Florida. Democrat Al Gore conceded, delivering a call for national unity.