A U.S. House ethics committee has opened an investigation of Rep. Corrine Brown, weeks after the director of a charity with ties to the congresswoman pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. "I have no comment," Brown, D-Jacksonville, said Wednesday, via a spokesman....
Former Gov. Jeb Bush endorsed one-time GOP rival Ted Cruz for president this morning. Bush made the announcement on his Facebook page, saying, "Ted is a consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests, including yesterday’s Utah...
Normally, beer and chips make the perfect pairing. But when two trucks – one carrying Frito Lay products and the other Anheuser-Busch – smashed into each other on Interstate 95 in Melbourne, the combination made a mess as alcoholic beverage spilled into the roadway and held up early-morning commuters...
A spokesman for the State Fire Marshal's Office on Tuesday identified 67-year-old Edwin Ponder as the victim in a deadly weekend house fire in Orlando. The cause is still being determined and investigators are awaiting the results of testing on lab samples from the scene, spokesman John Moore said....
The most senior of three Kissimmee Police officers being investigated after an allegation of false testimony has twice been fired from the agency – and then rehired – since 2010, according to personnel records. In both instances, Det. Felix Echevarria, 49, appealed the decision and won his position...
Keeping pace with passenger growth from the last several months, Orlando International Airport ended January with a nearly 12.6 percent increase in travelers compared to a year earlier. A total of 2.99 million domestic passengers moved through Orlando's largest airport the first month of 2016,...
One of the region’s better competitions for startup companies is set for Thursday night at the new digs for Canvs coworking space in Winter Park. Four finalists will make presentations, and a winner will be selected for The Rollins Business Plan Competition. The winner gets $50,000 in investment...
Construction of a planned Andretti Indoor Karting & Games facility near Orange County Convention Center could start as soon as the end of July if the permitting process goes smoothly. The 95,200-square-foot facility received necessary approval Wednesday from the Orange County Development Review...
Delivering a potentially serious blow to one of the fastest growing production hubs in the country, Walt Disney Co. is threatening to no longer film in the state of Georgia if an anti-gay bill is signed into law there. The Free Exercise Protection Act is on the desk of Gov. Nathan Deal, who must...
The suspected bombmaker in the Paris attacks in November was one of two suicide bombers who targeted the Brussels airport, officials said Wednesday, in a new sign that both attacks are linked to the same cell of the Islamic State group.
Hillary Clinton on Wednesday sought to position herself as the only candidate equipped to deal with international terrorism at a time her Republican rivals are calling for police monitoring of American Muslim communities, rethinking of America’s alliance with NATO and carpet bombing in the Middle...
President Barack Obama acknowledged Wednesday that U.S. relations with Latin America's dictatorships in the 1970s damaged its image in the region, but said he hoped the release of long-classified documents about Argentina's "Dirty war" would rebuild trust. Obama made the comments on the eve of...
The Supreme Court was divided during a tense oral argument Wednesday over whether religiously affiliated organizations such as universities, hospitals and charities should be exempt from the Affordable Care Act's mandate that employees receive contraceptive coverage. The court's four liberals were...
As Republicans in Utah waited for their caucuses to start on Tuesday night, Republican front-runner Donald Trump - who had lagged in the state's polls and went on to lose Utah - tweeted an attack on his chief rival that got personal. "Wow Sen. Ted Cruz, that is some low-level ad you did using a...
The Florida health department reported a new travel-related case of Zika in Broward County, bringing up the state's total to 72. With 11 cases, Broward is reporting the highest number of Zika following Miami, which has confirmed 32 cases so far. Central Florida is reporting nine cases. Meanwhile, the...
Orlando Health and the West Orange Healthcare District announced on Tuesday three expansion projects worth $100 million, 500 construction jobs and 200 new permanent health-care jobs. The expansions include the addition of a comprehensive cancer center and a 100-bed skilled nursing facility to the...
This week, from Tuesday through Thursday, you can get free school-required shots at Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center. The free shots are provided through a partnership between the Florida Department of Health in Orange County and Orange County Public Schools. “Spring break is a great...
Orange County slapped trash haulers with $26,000 in fines in February for missed pickups and other collection errors, hoping to spur garbage crews to improve the maligned service. "We are committed to ensuring that all of our customers receive consistent service countywide," Jim Becker, solid waste...
More than 1,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled from a holding area Sunday, contaminating the waters of Lake Rose and Lake Sherwood and prompting Orange County officials to warn the public from boating, fishing or swimming in the two waterways in west Orange County. The lakes should be avoided for...
The mother of a 4-year-old boy who shot her as they were riding in a pickup truck in Florida should face a misdemeanor charge, authorities said Tuesday. The mother, Jamie Gilt, put a loaded handgun underneath the front seat and at some point during a drive, the weapon slid into the back where her...
Despite being in his 80s, Kendell Wooldridge Wherry was still practicing law when Orlando attorney Mark Horwitz last saw him and asked why he hadn't retired yet. "I joked with him, 'Kendell, why don't you stay home?'" Horwitz recalled. "He told me he loved what he did." Wherry, one of the original...
When Patricia "Pat" Jimison first heard of Alzheimer's disease, it was 1980 and a doctor was giving her a diagnosis for her 53-year-old husband, Jack — a construction engineer who had started forgetting the route he took to work each day. Jimison, then a stay-at-home mom with no medical or leadership...
A longtime school principal and former president of Orange County's NAACP chapter who fought for equal opportunities for all children has died. Rufus Brooks, 88, died Thursday after a long illness, family members said. Daughter Bridget Williams said her father worked tirelessly for others at school...
David Jones learned about the art of meditation in a Japanese monastery, hosted a radio show about the blues and talked at length with psychics to understand their craft. He was the Renaissance Man of academia — playing guitar in a faculty band, teaching his anthropology students how to build a...
As she battled acute myeloid leukemia, Melanie Aybar inspired employees at UF Health Cancer Center-Orlando Health. Her resilience resonated with the them, and when her boyfriend proposed, they rallied around her to put a wedding together four days later. Her wedding with 24-year-old Michael Sanchez...
At age 66, Roberta Elisabeth Hixon Stuart — after raising four children, campaigning for her politician husband and working for a long list of charities and worthy causes — might have retired. Instead she flew to Africa, where she fell in love with a group of deeply impoverished Ethiopian villagers...