Father Indicted For Child's Hot Car Death In Volusia County
(DeLand, FL) -- A Volusia County man is facing charges in his child's death. Ormond Beach's Scott Allen Gardner was indicted yesterday for first-degree murder. He allegedly left his one-year-old son to die in a hot car last month. The sheriff's office says the boy was in the car for three hours while Gardner got a haircut and went to a bar. Gardner was also indicted for aggravated child abuse and child neglect. He'll be arraigned next week.
Dozens Of Biker Gang Members Arrested In Volusia County
(Daytona Beach, FL)-- Over two dozen alleged members of a motorcycle gang are in custody in Volusia County. State Attorney R.J. Larizza announced yesterday 28 members of the Mongols were arrested, and the arrests of three more are pending. They're charged with aggravated rioting after a shooting in March in New Smyrna Beach. The charge is a second-degree felony that comes with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Larizza says the investigation is ongoing, and other charges could be added.
Trans HillsCo Teacher Loses Court Fight Over Pronouns
(Tallahassee, FL)-- A transgender Hillsborough County teacher is dealing with a setback in his/her effort to be called by his/her preferred pronoun. A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Florida has the right to require teachers to be referred to by the pronoun associated with their gender at birth. Math teacher Katie Wood sued the state over the law that passed two years ago. Wood wants to be referred to as a female, and claims the law violates free speech rights. The court disagreed, though, because Wood, in the classroom, speaks as a government employee and not a private citizen. There's no word on what Wood's next step may be.
Alligator Alcatraz Ready For Detainees
(Ochopee, FL) -- Florida's newest immigrant detention center may already be filling up. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says plans were in place to check in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens at Alligator Alcatraz last night. The Everglades facility was built to hold about 5-thousand detainees. Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz says the facility is a waste of money because it probably will only hold about half that many. She also tells CNN the facility will upend decades of environmental restoration.
Today in History
1945, a passenger car rolled off the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, Michigan, for the first time in three years. Automobile production had stopped because of World War Two.
1878, John Wise of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was the pilot for the first flight of a dirigible.
1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania ended as the Northern troops forced Confederate soldiers to retreat.