DeSantis Proposed Criminal Justice Reforms
(Miami, FL) -- It looks like criminal justice reforms will be one of the top focuses when Florida lawmakers reconvene. While in Miami yesterday, Governor Ron DeSantis highlighted several proposals that officials will introduce as a way of cementing Florida's reputation as being a law and order state. DeSantis mentioned proposals designed to change the voting process for the death penalty and increase efforts to combat fentanyl. The governor said the state's crime rate is at its lowest in 50 years with homicides down 14-percent.
Volusia County Man Pleads Guilty To January 6th Charges
(Washington, DC)-- A Volusia County man could get up to five years in prison for his role in the January 6th breach of the US Capitol. Edgewater's Howard Adams pled guilty yesterday in Washington, DC to a felony charge of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder. The 62-year-old will be sentenced in March. Prosecutors say Adams made physical contact with an officer as the officer attempted to push Adams toward the exit.
Police Believe More Victims Possible After Child Abuse Arrest
(DeBary, FL) -- Volusia County police believe there are more victims after a man was charged with child abuse. Deputies say 76-year-old Daniel Tillis, who owns Tillis Pest Control, is accused of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 12. Further into the investigation, two other adults came forward claiming Tillis abused them when they were children. Deputies are asking potential victims or anyone with information to call the sheriff's office.
MPD Sergeant Blasts Management In Retirement Announcement
(Miami, FL)-- A Miami Police officer isn't holding back when it comes to how she feels about her superiors. Sergeant Madelin Garcia retired yesterday morning, and in her last radio message she blasted MPD management. She complained of back stabbing and personal attacks from her immediate supervisors. She accused the chief and first assistant chief of destroying the department and the morale except for their inner circle. Garcia then called her immediate supervisor a liar, a snake in the grass and a cancer to the department. She added she's more of a man than he is. The MPD says it's aware of the radio transmission, but it has no further comment.
Florida Jobless Claims Dip
(Washington, DC)-- Unemployment claims continue to drop in Florida. The U.S. Labor Department reports about 53-hundred newly-jobless state residents filed initial jobless claims for the week ending January 21st. That's down more than 18-hundred from the previous week. Figures released last week show Florida had an unemployment rate of two-and-a-half percent in December, which was the lowest jobless rate since 2006.
Florida Woman Accused Of $2.8-Million Holocaust Survivor Scam
(New York, NY)-- A Florida woman is accused of using a romance scam to take a Holocaust survivor's life savings. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York says the 36-year-old woman who was arrested Wednesday in Florida is charged with one count of wire fraud. She met the 87-year-old Manhattan man on a dating website several years ago. Prosecutors say she first asked for money in 2017, telling the man she'd gotten a settlement from a lawsuit but needed to pay her attorney to receive it. Lies over the next four years led to 62 checks totaling two-point-eight million dollars being deposited into her accounts.
TODAY IN HISTORY
2022, President Joe Biden pledges to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
1984, Michael Jackson's hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. The incident was caused by faulty pyrotechnics.
1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris. The signing brought an end to the U.S. military role in Vietnam.
1967, astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Edward White were killed in a fire aboard Apollo One.
1945, Russian troops liberated Auschwitz concentration camp where the Nazis had murdered more than one-million men, women and children.
1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for the electric incandescent lamp.