Prosecutors To Seek Death Penalty Against Teen's Alleged Killer
(Kissimmee, FL) --A man accused of killing an Osceola County teenager could get the death penalty. State Attorney Andrew Bain announced yesterday he'll seek the death penalty in the first-degree murder case against Stephen Sterns. The 38-year-old is accused of killing 13-year-old Madeline Soto, who went missing in late February. Her body was found less than a week later in St. Cloud. Bain says he decided to ask for the death penalty because of several aggravating factors. They include that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel and Sterns was in a position of familial or custodial authority over the victim. Soto was the daughter of Sterns' girlfriend.
Starliner's Return Flight To Earth Delayed
(Cape Canaveral, FL) -- NASA astronauts at the International Space Station will stay up there for at least another week. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station onboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft last Wednesday. This marked the capsule's first crewed mission. NASA and Boeing gave an update yesterday, saying the astronauts will return to Earth no earlier than Tuesday, June 18th in order to allow engineers to keep an eye on three small helium leaks. The initial plan was for the flight crew to spend only a week at the ISS before making their way back home.
Man Shot, Building Set On Fire In Miami
(Miami, FL) --A man is hurt after a shooting and a fire in Miami. It happened yesterday morning at the Temple Court Apartments on Northwest Third Street. Police say Juan Francisco Figueroa shot a man and then set the four-story building on fire. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez says the shooting victim is in critical condition. Family members say he's a 30-year-old maintenance man who works at the apartment complex. Firefighters rescued dozens of residents, but over 40 of them are now displaced. Suarez says the property management company will put up the residents in a hotel for the next two weeks. Three firefighters and a resident were treated for smoke inhalation.
Four Police Officers Indicted For Deadly Shootout In Miami-Dade County
(Miami, FL) --Four Miami-Dade Police officers are facing charges for a deadly shootout in Broward County. The Police Benevolent Association announced yesterday a grand jury indicted the officers for the incident five years ago in Miramar. In a shootout with two robbery suspects on the Miramar Parkway, a 27-year-old UPS driver, a 70-year-old innocent bystander and the two suspects were killed. The PBA says they're extremely disappointed the officers are being indicted for something they had seconds to decide. They also say this sends a chilling message to officers in Broward County. The state attorney's office declined comment.
Former McD's Employee Arrested For Armed Robbery
(Lakeland, FL) --A Polk County woman is accused of robbing the place she used to work. Lakeland Police announced yesterday that Iesha Williams was arrested for robbing the McDonald's where she used to work on South Florida Ave. Police say she wore a mask, but employees recognized her anyway. She was found about half-an-hour later and arrested. The LPD says she confessed. The 33-year-old is facing charges that include robbery with a firearm.
Florida Using New Playing Cards To Highlight Cold Cases
(Tampa, FL) -- Trying to help solve cases in Florida, Attorney General Ashely Moody was in Tampa yesterday to talk about new playing cards that display information about local cold cases. Moody says there are currently about 20-thousand open homicide investigations in the state. The goal is to distribute more than five-thousand decks to jails and prisons to try to generate new leads from inmates. Similar efforts in other states, like Connecticut and South Carolina, have led to more than two dozen solved cases.
Video Shows Man Being Stopped By TSA For SPAM In Carry-On
(Minneapolis, MN) --A now viral TikTok video is showing the reaction of TSA agents at a Minnesota airport when a man tried to carry ten cans of SPAM onto a plane. The Massachusetts man trying to board a flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International. When a TSA agent started pulling the SPAM cans from his carry-on, he told the agent that the cans came "straight from the factory" and included special flavors like teriyaki. The agent performed a test on the cans before letting him through with his prize. The video has been viewed nearly 500-thousand times and has generated more than three-thousand comments.
Today in History
2021, a U.S. lobsterman survived being swallowed by a humpback whale off the Massachusetts coast.
1987, Margaret Thatcher became the first British Prime Minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office.