Experts are investigating after the computer systems of two central Florida hospitals showed signs of unusual activity, an official said.

The Villages Regional Hospital and the UF Health Leesburg Hospital shut down multiple systems to protect patient information during the event on Monday night, switching to pen and paper to document patient visits, news outlets report.

"We have since learned that the activity was related to a cybersecurity event," Frank Faust, a spokesman for the University of Florida's Health Central Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel.

"With regard to protected information, at this time we do not believe any patient or personnel records have been compromised or shared." Faust said information technology teams from the University of Florida were investigating.

"These types of situations take time to fully resolve," Faust said. "We are continuing to methodically investigate to delicately and precisely understand what happened, and are taking the appropriate actions to resolve any and all issues." The Villages is one of the country's largest retirement communities, with a population of more than 130,000.

(With inputs from agencies)

Experts are investigating after the computer systems of two central Florida hospitals showed signs of unusual activity, an official said. The Villages Regional Hospital and the UF Health Leesburg Hospital shut down multiple systems to protect patient information during the event on Monday night, switching to pen and paper to document patient visits, news outlets report.

Experts are investigating after the computer systems of two central Florida hospitals showed signs of unusual activity, an official said. The Villages Regional Hospital and the UF Health Leesburg Hospital shut down multiple systems to protect patient information during the event on Monday night, switching to pen and paper to document patient visits, news outlets report. "We have since learned that the activity was related to a cybersecurity event," Frank Faust, a spokesman for the University of Florida's Health Central Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel. "With regard to protected information, at this time we do not believe any patient or personnel records have been compromised or shared." Faust said information technology teams from the University of Florida were investigating. "These types of situations take time to fully resolve," Faust said. "We are continuing to methodically investigate to delicately and precisely understand what happened, and are taking the appropriate actions to resolve any and all issues." The Villages is one of the country's largest retirement communities, with a population of more than 130,000. (With inputs from agencies)

Experts look into possible cyberattack at Florida hospitals

Florida Police officers shot a 14-year-old girl on Tuesday night after she and a 12-year-old boy opened fire on deputies. The girl was shot in the abdomen and the arm and is in stable condition, while the boy had surrendered and was not injured. The sheriff's office has released the videos.

Florida: 12 & 14-year-olds involved in shootout with police

Guns are linked to 38,000 annual deaths in the U.S, but gun control remains taboo. What explains America's obsession with guns? What is the human cost of this obsession? WION’s Palki Sharma tells you.

Gravitas: Florida cop shoots 14-year-old girl

14-year-old girl & 12-year-old boy were involved in a shootout with 8 cops in Florida. Sheriff's office says, kids broke into a house, found guns & opened fire on police. The girl was shot in the abdomen & arm but is stable after surgery. Sheriff's office has released the videos.

Florida: 2 armed teenagers in shootout with 8 deputies

Two people were killed and at least 20 were injured in a mass shootout carried out by three suspects outside a concert hall in Miami, Florida. Local police said that the trio "shot indiscriminately into a crowd".

"According to investigators, the establishment was hosting a scheduled event and several patrons were standing outside," Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement. "The subjects' SUV approached the front of the business, three subjects exited the vehicle and began shooting indiscriminately into the crowd."

The mass shooting happened during the early hours at a billiards hall on a commercial estate near Miami Gardens, to the northwest of the coastal city's downtown.

After they shot bullets at the crowd, the trio got back in the car and left the scene.

The first responders on the scene found two persons dead. Twenty&nbsp;injured people have been shifted to hospital and one is in critical condition.&nbsp;

In a tweet, the department's director, Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez III, condemned the "targeted and cowardly act of gun violence."

"These are cold blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice," he said.

Mass shootings is a huge domestic problem America faces. There are constant demands to put curbs on easy availability of gun but gun rights advicate term any such move a violation of citizens' basic rights.

Mass shootings have occurred in recent months at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, an office building in California, a grocery store in Colorado and at several spas in Atlanta.

President Joe Biden last month branded US gun violence an "epidemic" and an "international embarrassment."

There were more than 43,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

(With inputs from agencies)

Two people were killed and at least 20 were injured in a mass shootout carried out by three suspects outside a concert hall in Miami, Florida. Local police said that the trio "shot indiscriminately into a crowd".

Two people were killed and at least 20 were injured in a mass shootout carried out by three suspects outside a concert hall in Miami, Florida. Local police said that the trio "shot indiscriminately into a crowd". "According to investigators, the establishment was hosting a scheduled event and several patrons were standing outside," Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement. "The subjects' SUV approached the front of the business, three subjects exited the vehicle and began shooting indiscriminately into the crowd." The mass shooting happened during the early hours at a billiards hall on a commercial estate near Miami Gardens, to the northwest of the coastal city's downtown. After they shot bullets at the crowd, the trio got back in the car and left the scene. The first responders on the scene found two persons dead. Twenty injured people have been shifted to hospital and one is in critical condition. In a tweet, the department's director, Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez III, condemned the "targeted and cowardly act of gun violence." "These are cold blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice," he said. Mass shootings is a huge domestic problem America faces. There are constant demands to put curbs on easy availability of gun but gun rights advicate term any such move a violation of citizens' basic rights. Mass shootings have occurred in recent months at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, an office building in California, a grocery store in Colorado and at several spas in Atlanta. President Joe Biden last month branded US gun violence an "epidemic" and an "international embarrassment." There were more than 43,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive. (With inputs from agencies)

Mass shooting in Florida kills at least two, 20 people injured

Florida&nbsp;Governor&nbsp;Ron DeSantis, a potential Republican US presidential candidate in 2024, signed into&nbsp;law&nbsp;Thursday an election security bill certain to please supporters of Donald&nbsp;Trump, but which critics warn poses blatant barriers to voting.

By implementing SB90, which restricts voting by mail, requires valid&nbsp;voter&nbsp;identification and prohibits use of private funds to finance campaigns,&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;joins a growing list of Republican-run states that have tweaked&nbsp;voter&nbsp;laws&nbsp;following&nbsp;Trump's baseless charge of fraud in last year's election.

DeSantis signed the&nbsp;law&nbsp;in Palm Beach near the private Mar-a-Lago club where&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;has resided since leaving the White House in January.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="'From the Desk of...': Donald Trump launches his own social media space">'From the Desk of...': Donald Trump launches his own social media space</a>

The event itself stirred controversy. Supporters of the former president were in attendance, and Fox News — seen by many as pro-Trump&nbsp;— was the only television network allowed, as other local channels were barred entry.&nbsp;

In a statement, DeSantis said the bill will "strengthen the security of our elections." As he signed the measure he defended one of its many controversial elements: the restriction of vote-by-mail drop boxes.

"They need to be monitored," DeSantis told morning show Fox &amp; Friends as supporters behind him cheered. "You can't just leave these boxes out where there's no supervision."

Although there was no suspicion of fraud in&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;during November's presidential election, DeSantis said the&nbsp;law&nbsp;will ensure Floridians that "your vote is going to be cast with integrity and transparency."

More Democrats than Republicans voted by mail in November because of the pandemic and these ballots helped tip the balance in favor of&nbsp;Trump's Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Suffering reelection defeat,&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;claimed&nbsp;voter&nbsp;fraud — a baseless charge dismissed by dozens of courts across multiple states.

Florida&nbsp;Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat elected in the state's administration, accused DeSantis of signing the&nbsp;law&nbsp;to satisfy&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;and his&nbsp;base, whose support the&nbsp;governor&nbsp;seeks as he weighs his political future.

"The only fraud that I saw was by the Republicans," Fried told reporters.

"We know that the only reason to sign this piece of legislation... was for one person," she said, referring to&nbsp;Trump.

Critics of the new measure say the bill, approved last week by&nbsp;Florida's Republican-controlled legislature, is a form of&nbsp;voter&nbsp;suppression.

"Republicans across the country know they're failing to connect with and deliver for the American people, so they’ve decided their winning playbook centers on making it harder for them to make their voices heard," said Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund said it "creates barriers and burdens that impact all&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;voters, and disproportionally impacts the ability of Black voters, Latino voters and voters with disabilities to cast their ballot."

Unlike many other countries, the United States does not issue national identification cards.

Identity during US elections is verified through a driver's license or other forms of acceptable ID, which some people, disproportionally low-income and minority Americans, do not have.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential Republican US presidential candidate in 2024, signed into law Thursday an election security bill certain to please supporters of Donald Trump, but which critics warn poses blatant barriers to voting.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential Republican US presidential candidate in 2024, signed into law Thursday an election security bill certain to please supporters of Donald Trump, but which critics warn poses blatant barriers to voting. By implementing SB90, which restricts voting by mail, requires valid voter identification and prohibits use of private funds to finance campaigns, Florida joins a growing list of Republican-run states that have tweaked voter laws following Trump's baseless charge of fraud in last year's election. DeSantis signed the law in Palm Beach near the private Mar-a-Lago club where Trump has resided since leaving the White House in January. Also read: 'From the Desk of...': Donald Trump launches his own social media space The event itself stirred controversy. Supporters of the former president were in attendance, and Fox News — seen by many as pro-Trump — was the only television network allowed, as other local channels were barred entry. In a statement, DeSantis said the bill will "strengthen the security of our elections." As he signed the measure he defended one of its many controversial elements: the restriction of vote-by-mail drop boxes. "They need to be monitored," DeSantis told morning show Fox & Friends as supporters behind him cheered. "You can't just leave these boxes out where there's no supervision." Although there was no suspicion of fraud in Florida during November's presidential election, DeSantis said the law will ensure Floridians that "your vote is going to be cast with integrity and transparency." More Democrats than Republicans voted by mail in November because of the pandemic and these ballots helped tip the balance in favor of Trump's Democratic rival Joe Biden. Suffering reelection defeat, Trump claimed voter fraud — a baseless charge dismissed by dozens of courts across multiple states. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat elected in the state's administration, accused DeSantis of signing the law to satisfy Trump and his base, whose support the governor seeks as he weighs his political future. "The only fraud that I saw was by the Republicans," Fried told reporters. "We know that the only reason to sign this piece of legislation... was for one person," she said, referring to Trump. Critics of the new measure say the bill, approved last week by Florida's Republican-controlled legislature, is a form of voter suppression. "Republicans across the country know they're failing to connect with and deliver for the American people, so they’ve decided their winning playbook centers on making it harder for them to make their voices heard," said Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund said it "creates barriers and burdens that impact all Florida voters, and disproportionally impacts the ability of Black voters, Latino voters and voters with disabilities to cast their ballot." Unlike many other countries, the United States does not issue national identification cards. Identity during US elections is verified through a driver's license or other forms of acceptable ID, which some people, disproportionally low-income and minority Americans, do not have.

Florida governor tightens voter law in appeal to Trump base

The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has signed a bill imposing new limits on voting by mail and using ballot drop boxes. The White House swiftly criticized the law, saying Florida is “moving in the wrong direction”.

Florida governor tightens restrictions on mail voting and ballot drop boxes

Genetically engineered mosquitoes have arrived in U.S. 20 million 'modified mosquitoes' will be released in Florida to help prevent Dengue. But, Florida residents fear a 'mosquito apocalypse'

Gravitas: Genetically modified mosquitoes arrive in Florida

'The happiest place on Earth' reopens with COVID-19 restrictions

Both houses of legislature in Florida passed a bill that would possibly stop tech companies from de-platforming politicians. As per the bill, tech platforms will allowed to suspend accounts of the politicians for 14 days, said BBC. The legislation is awaiting nod from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is considered to be an ally of former US President Donald Trump.&nbsp;

As per the media report, tech companies may be fined USD 250,000 per day under this legislation if they continued the de-platforming beyond the 14-days window.

Former US President Donald Trump was an avid user of the social media. His tweets were often criticised. He was also dubbed a 'Twitter president' during his tenure.

Trump was given the boot by major tech platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others after the deadly Capitol Hill riots in January this year. Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building as US Congress was certifying current President Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential Election 2020.

Trump was accused of being too late to make an appeal for calm through social media.

After his defeat in the elections, Trump has spent most of his time at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He is believed to have been close with Governor DeSantis and other high-ranking Republicans in the state.

Both houses of legislature in Florida passed a bill that would possibly stop tech companies from de-platforming politicians. As per the bill, tech platforms will allowed to suspend accounts of the politicians for 14 days, said BBC.

Both houses of legislature in Florida passed a bill that would possibly stop tech companies from de-platforming politicians. As per the bill, tech platforms will allowed to suspend accounts of the politicians for 14 days, said BBC. The legislation is awaiting nod from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is considered to be an ally of former US President Donald Trump. As per the media report, tech companies may be fined USD 250,000 per day under this legislation if they continued the de-platforming beyond the 14-days window. Former US President Donald Trump was an avid user of the social media. His tweets were often criticised. He was also dubbed a 'Twitter president' during his tenure. Trump was given the boot by major tech platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others after the deadly Capitol Hill riots in January this year. Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building as US Congress was certifying current President Joe Biden's victory in US Presidential Election 2020. Trump was accused of being too late to make an appeal for calm through social media. After his defeat in the elections, Trump has spent most of his time at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He is believed to have been close with Governor DeSantis and other high-ranking Republicans in the state.

Florida approves bill stopping tech companies from de-platforming politicians

Republicans in the Florida Legislature passed an election overhaul bill Thursday that is set to usher in a host of voting restrictions in one of the most critical battleground states in the country, adding to the national push by GOP state lawmakers to reduce voting access.

The bill makes Florida the first major swing state won by former President Donald Trump to pass significant voting limits and reflects Republicans’ determination to reshape electoral systems even in states where they have been ascendant. Trump carried the state last year by more than three percentage points, other Republicans also performed strongly, and the party raised new hopes of its ability to appeal to Latino voters.

But Republicans in Florida argued that its elections needed to be more secure, despite the fact that voting unfolded smoothly in 2020 and arguments by Democrats and voting rights experts that some of the new measures would disproportionately affect voters of color. Now the state is on the verge of weakening key parts of an extensive voting infrastructure that was slowly constructed after the state’s chaotic 2000 election and was rapidly enlarged last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new bill would limit the use of drop boxes; add more identification requirements for those requesting absentee ballots; require voters to request an absentee ballot for each election, rather than receive them automatically through an absentee voting list; limit who could collect and drop off ballots; and further empower partisan observers during the ballot-counting process. The legislation would also expand a current rule that prohibits outside groups from providing items “with the intent to influence” voters within a 150-foot radius of a polling location.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has indicated his support for the voting overhaul and is expected to sign it. The bill passed largely along a party-line vote, though at least one Republican state senator voted against it.

The legislation follows a similar law passed recently by Georgia, and comes as Texas, Arizona and other states led by Republicans pursue limits on access to the ballot. GOP lawmakers have been fueled by a party base that has largely embraced Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud and a stolen 2020 election. In Florida, Republican legislators promoted the voting bill while providing little evidence of any problems with fraud, and despite their continued claims that the state’s 2020 election was the “gold standard” for the country.

“There was no problem in Florida,” said Kara Gross, the legislative director and senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. “Everything worked as it should. The only reason they’re doing this is to make it harder to vote.”

Once the bill is signed into law, Florida will become the first state to create new barriers to voting after businesses across the country embarked on a public pressure campaign to oppose such measures. Major corporations, after speaking out against voting bills in states like Georgia and Texas, remained largely muted on the Republican push in Florida.

Hovering over Florida’s debate about the bill was the state’s strong and exceptionally popular tradition of voting by mail — and a recent sea change in which party benefited most from it.

In the 2016 and 2018 elections, roughly a third of the state’s voters cast ballots through the mail. And in both years, more Republicans than Democrats voted by mail.

But in 2020, more than 2.1 million Democrats cast mail ballots, compared with roughly 1.4 million Republicans, largely because of a Democratic push to vote remotely amid the pandemic and Trump’s false attacks on the practice. (The former president and his family, however, voted by mail in Florida in the June 2020 primary.)

Given that history in Florida, its bill will act as a unique test of the national Republican push to curtail voting access, especially absentee and mail voting. And the GOP effort carries risks: Was the Democratic surge in mail balloting a sign of a new normal for the previously Republican-dominated voting method, or a blip caused by the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic?

The legislation has already become something of a political balancing act, as state Republicans try to appease a Trump-friendly base hungry for new voting limits while not harming the party’s turnout. In 2022, the state is poised to yet again become a marquee political battleground as Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, and DeSantis seek reelection.

Democrats in the Legislature seized on Republicans’ justification for the bill.

“So what’s the problem that we’re trying to fix?” Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democratic representative from Orlando, asked rhetorically. “Oh, here’s the problem: Florida Democrats cast 600,000 more vote-by-mail ballots.”

But Republicans defended the bill, saying that it was popular with “our constituents” and noting that voting options in Florida were still far more extensive than in other states. Florida will still have no-excuse absentee voting and will mandate at least eight days of early voting.

“If the opposition says that we are creating barriers to voting, those barriers already exist in other states,” said Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican state representative from Hernando County who helped lead the push for the bill. “But we never hear a peep from the opposition about those laws.”

Other Republican legislators echoed language used by Trump and his allies during their challenges to the 2020 election.

“I believe that every legal vote should count,” said Travis Hutson, a Republican senator from northeast Florida. “I believe one fraudulent vote is one too many. And I’m trying to protect the sanctity of our elections.”

Data requested by lawmakers themselves suggested there was little need for the legislation. The Republican-led House Public Integrity and Elections Committee surveyed the state’s 67 election supervisors in February, asking them about past elections. Almost all of the supervisors responded and said that, over the past four years, they had reported very few instances of possible fraud — one of lawmakers’ stated reasons for pushing the legislation — and that most of their drop boxes were already monitored, through either physical or video surveillance, public records show.

“It seems like the Legislature is ignoring — I would say deliberately ignoring — the facts that they have in their possession,” said Stephen F. Rosenthal of Miami, who is part of a group of Democratic lawyers that requested the records. The group also queried elected state prosecutors about voter fraud, finding a minuscule number of prosecuted cases.

The supervisors’ answers to the House committee also revealed that election supervisors had received millions of dollars in grant funding from outside organizations in 2019 and 2020. That money will now be prohibited, with no obvious substitute for it in the future.

Republicans, when pressed for details on any reported fraud that would prompt the need for the bill, often demurred.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it was going on,” Ingoglia responded to a question on the House floor about any reported instances of illegal ballot collection. “Just the fact that they weren’t caught doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not happening.”

The bill was not without criticism from notable Republicans inside and outside the Legislature. D. Alan Hays, a conservative Republican who had previously served in the state Senate for 12 years and is now the election supervisor in Lake County, told his former colleagues at a legislative hearing last month that their bill was a “travesty.”

The new bill is likely to face legal challenges from Democrats; hours after Gov. Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s voting bill into law, a coalition of Democrats and civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit challenging its legality.

Democrats in the Florida Legislature focused heavily on the bill’s potential impact on communities of color.

“Typically, in communities of color, households are very diverse,” said state Rep. Bobby DuBose, the minority leader, taking issue with the restriction that says a person could collect only two absentee ballots from other voters to bring and drop off at a polling location. “And so, if the intent was to add two — and in many households, there are more than two — why the number two and why not expand beyond two if your intent was to open up the accessibility to voting?”

Ingoglia said he believed allowing two ballots per person was sufficient, but Democrats disagreed, likening the rule to racially discriminatory laws of the past. Over and over, they framed the bill as a solution in search of a problem.

One Democratic representative, Fentrice Driskell of Tampa, framed the debate as similar to the hunt for the chupacabra, the mythical, nightmarish mammal-gobbling and goat-blood-sucking beast.

“Members, I’ve got no evidence for you on the chupacabra, and I got no evidence for you about ballot harvesting,” Driskell said. “But what I can tell you is this: that our system worked well in 2020, by all accounts, and everyone agreed. And that for so many reasons, we don’t need this bad bill.”

Republicans in the Florida Legislature passed an election overhaul bill Thursday that is set to usher in a host of voting restrictions in one of the most critical battleground states in the country, adding to the national push by GOP state lawmakers to reduce voting access.

Republicans in the Florida Legislature passed an election overhaul bill Thursday that is set to usher in a host of voting restrictions in one of the most critical battleground states in the country, adding to the national push by GOP state lawmakers to reduce voting access. The bill makes Florida the first major swing state won by former President Donald Trump to pass significant voting limits and reflects Republicans’ determination to reshape electoral systems even in states where they have been ascendant. Trump carried the state last year by more than three percentage points, other Republicans also performed strongly, and the party raised new hopes of its ability to appeal to Latino voters. But Republicans in Florida argued that its elections needed to be more secure, despite the fact that voting unfolded smoothly in 2020 and arguments by Democrats and voting rights experts that some of the new measures would disproportionately affect voters of color. Now the state is on the verge of weakening key parts of an extensive voting infrastructure that was slowly constructed after the state’s chaotic 2000 election and was rapidly enlarged last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new bill would limit the use of drop boxes; add more identification requirements for those requesting absentee ballots; require voters to request an absentee ballot for each election, rather than receive them automatically through an absentee voting list; limit who could collect and drop off ballots; and further empower partisan observers during the ballot-counting process. The legislation would also expand a current rule that prohibits outside groups from providing items “with the intent to influence” voters within a 150-foot radius of a polling location. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has indicated his support for the voting overhaul and is expected to sign it. The bill passed largely along a party-line vote, though at least one Republican state senator voted against it. The legislation follows a similar law passed recently by Georgia, and comes as Texas, Arizona and other states led by Republicans pursue limits on access to the ballot. GOP lawmakers have been fueled by a party base that has largely embraced Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud and a stolen 2020 election. In Florida, Republican legislators promoted the voting bill while providing little evidence of any problems with fraud, and despite their continued claims that the state’s 2020 election was the “gold standard” for the country. “There was no problem in Florida,” said Kara Gross, the legislative director and senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. “Everything worked as it should. The only reason they’re doing this is to make it harder to vote.” Once the bill is signed into law, Florida will become the first state to create new barriers to voting after businesses across the country embarked on a public pressure campaign to oppose such measures. Major corporations, after speaking out against voting bills in states like Georgia and Texas, remained largely muted on the Republican push in Florida. Hovering over Florida’s debate about the bill was the state’s strong and exceptionally popular tradition of voting by mail — and a recent sea change in which party benefited most from it. In the 2016 and 2018 elections, roughly a third of the state’s voters cast ballots through the mail. And in both years, more Republicans than Democrats voted by mail. But in 2020, more than 2.1 million Democrats cast mail ballots, compared with roughly 1.4 million Republicans, largely because of a Democratic push to vote remotely amid the pandemic and Trump’s false attacks on the practice. (The former president and his family, however, voted by mail in Florida in the June 2020 primary.) Given that history in Florida, its bill will act as a unique test of the national Republican push to curtail voting access, especially absentee and mail voting. And the GOP effort carries risks: Was the Democratic surge in mail balloting a sign of a new normal for the previously Republican-dominated voting method, or a blip caused by the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic? The legislation has already become something of a political balancing act, as state Republicans try to appease a Trump-friendly base hungry for new voting limits while not harming the party’s turnout. In 2022, the state is poised to yet again become a marquee political battleground as Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, and DeSantis seek reelection. Democrats in the Legislature seized on Republicans’ justification for the bill. “So what’s the problem that we’re trying to fix?” Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democratic representative from Orlando, asked rhetorically. “Oh, here’s the problem: Florida Democrats cast 600,000 more vote-by-mail ballots.” But Republicans defended the bill, saying that it was popular with “our constituents” and noting that voting options in Florida were still far more extensive than in other states. Florida will still have no-excuse absentee voting and will mandate at least eight days of early voting. “If the opposition says that we are creating barriers to voting, those barriers already exist in other states,” said Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican state representative from Hernando County who helped lead the push for the bill. “But we never hear a peep from the opposition about those laws.” Other Republican legislators echoed language used by Trump and his allies during their challenges to the 2020 election. “I believe that every legal vote should count,” said Travis Hutson, a Republican senator from northeast Florida. “I believe one fraudulent vote is one too many. And I’m trying to protect the sanctity of our elections.” Data requested by lawmakers themselves suggested there was little need for the legislation. The Republican-led House Public Integrity and Elections Committee surveyed the state’s 67 election supervisors in February, asking them about past elections. Almost all of the supervisors responded and said that, over the past four years, they had reported very few instances of possible fraud — one of lawmakers’ stated reasons for pushing the legislation — and that most of their drop boxes were already monitored, through either physical or video surveillance, public records show. “It seems like the Legislature is ignoring — I would say deliberately ignoring — the facts that they have in their possession,” said Stephen F. Rosenthal of Miami, who is part of a group of Democratic lawyers that requested the records. The group also queried elected state prosecutors about voter fraud, finding a minuscule number of prosecuted cases. The supervisors’ answers to the House committee also revealed that election supervisors had received millions of dollars in grant funding from outside organizations in 2019 and 2020. That money will now be prohibited, with no obvious substitute for it in the future. Republicans, when pressed for details on any reported fraud that would prompt the need for the bill, often demurred. “I don’t know, but I’m sure it was going on,” Ingoglia responded to a question on the House floor about any reported instances of illegal ballot collection. “Just the fact that they weren’t caught doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not happening.” The bill was not without criticism from notable Republicans inside and outside the Legislature. D. Alan Hays, a conservative Republican who had previously served in the state Senate for 12 years and is now the election supervisor in Lake County, told his former colleagues at a legislative hearing last month that their bill was a “travesty.” The new bill is likely to face legal challenges from Democrats; hours after Gov. Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s voting bill into law, a coalition of Democrats and civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit challenging its legality. Democrats in the Florida Legislature focused heavily on the bill’s potential impact on communities of color. “Typically, in communities of color, households are very diverse,” said state Rep. Bobby DuBose, the minority leader, taking issue with the restriction that says a person could collect only two absentee ballots from other voters to bring and drop off at a polling location. “And so, if the intent was to add two — and in many households, there are more than two — why the number two and why not expand beyond two if your intent was to open up the accessibility to voting?” Ingoglia said he believed allowing two ballots per person was sufficient, but Democrats disagreed, likening the rule to racially discriminatory laws of the past. Over and over, they framed the bill as a solution in search of a problem. One Democratic representative, Fentrice Driskell of Tampa, framed the debate as similar to the hunt for the chupacabra, the mythical, nightmarish mammal-gobbling and goat-blood-sucking beast. “Members, I’ve got no evidence for you on the chupacabra, and I got no evidence for you about ballot harvesting,” Driskell said. “But what I can tell you is this: that our system worked well in 2020, by all accounts, and everyone agreed. And that for so many reasons, we don’t need this bad bill.”

Florida Republicans pass voting limits in broad elections bill

Amid fears of waste water reservoir overflowing in Tampa, authorities in Florida have declared an emergency and announced that they are making progress in preventing an environmental catastrophe to take place.

Florida declares state of emergency amid fears of waste water reservoir overflowing

Donald Trump is not in the White House anymore, but there are things still on his mind. But the selection of the right stage to say it all could keep&nbsp;him safe from online trolling.

The former US president took to stage to wish a couple getting married at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

It must have been a great moment for the couple to have a former US president speak at their&nbsp;wedding. But Trump went on a rant, talking about Iran, China, the border migrant crisis&nbsp;and Joe Biden.

"We were ready to make a deal [with Iran], they were ready to do anything, they would have done anything. And this guy [Biden] goes and drops the sanctions and then he says we'd like to negotiate now," Trump is heard saying in a video circulating online.&nbsp;

This was an apparent reference to Biden's effort to engage with Iran in order to re-enter the nuclear deal the US struck in 2015 under Barack Obama, and Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.

Trump also spoke about the domestic situation in the US. "The border is not good. It's the worst that it has ever been," he said.

Trump had strived hard to&nbsp;build a wall along the US-Mexico border, one of his key campaign promises in&nbsp;2016.

Trump then went on to speak&nbsp;about his election loss to Biden in 2020. "They said get 66 million votes, sir, and the election is over. I got 75 million votes, and you saw what happened," he said.

Trump still maintains that he did not lose the elections and that there was widespread voting fraud. His claims have been refuted by US Supreme Court and election officials. Joe Biden got 80 million votes, 5 million more than what Trump bagged.

At the very end of his 400-word long address, Trump said, "It's an honour to have you at Mar-a-Lago, you are a beautiful couple...have fun".

The video has been posted online by TMZ.

Donald Trump is not in the White House anymore, but there are things still on his mind. But the selection of the right stage to say it all could keep him safe from online trolling.

Donald Trump is not in the White House anymore, but there are things still on his mind. But the selection of the right stage to say it all could keep him safe from online trolling. The former US president took to stage to wish a couple getting married at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It must have been a great moment for the couple to have a former US president speak at their wedding. But Trump went on a rant, talking about Iran, China, the border migrant crisis and Joe Biden. "We were ready to make a deal [with Iran], they were ready to do anything, they would have done anything. And this guy [Biden] goes and drops the sanctions and then he says we'd like to negotiate now," Trump is heard saying in a video circulating online. This was an apparent reference to Biden's effort to engage with Iran in order to re-enter the nuclear deal the US struck in 2015 under Barack Obama, and Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018. Trump also spoke about the domestic situation in the US. "The border is not good. It's the worst that it has ever been," he said. Trump had strived hard to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, one of his key campaign promises in 2016. Trump then went on to speak about his election loss to Biden in 2020. "They said get 66 million votes, sir, and the election is over. I got 75 million votes, and you saw what happened," he said. Trump still maintains that he did not lose the elections and that there was widespread voting fraud. His claims have been refuted by US Supreme Court and election officials. Joe Biden got 80 million votes, 5 million more than what Trump bagged. At the very end of his 400-word long address, Trump said, "It's an honour to have you at Mar-a-Lago, you are a beautiful couple...have fun". The video has been posted online by TMZ.

Trump takes mic to wish a couple at wedding, starts talking about foreign policy

A Florida teenager has been sentenced to three years in prison for hacking the Twitter accounts of prominent politicians and celebrities last year, and scamming people around the globe out of more than $100,000 in Bitcoin.

Graham Ivan Clark pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges as part of a deal with Hillsborough County prosecutors. He was then tried in state court instead of federal court because he was 17 at the time of the crimes.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the 18-year-old was the mastermind behind the scheme to take over prominent Twitter accounts and send tweets seeking Bitcoin payments.&nbsp;

During the high-profile security breach on July 15 last year, tweets were sent from the accounts of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a number of tech billionaires including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.&nbsp;

Celebrities Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, were also targeted.

A Florida teenager has been sentenced to three years in prison for hacking the Twitter accounts of prominent politicians and celebrities last year, and scamming people around the globe out of more than $100,000 in Bitcoin.

A Florida teenager has been sentenced to three years in prison for hacking the Twitter accounts of prominent politicians and celebrities last year, and scamming people around the globe out of more than $100,000 in Bitcoin. Graham Ivan Clark pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges as part of a deal with Hillsborough County prosecutors. He was then tried in state court instead of federal court because he was 17 at the time of the crimes. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the 18-year-old was the mastermind behind the scheme to take over prominent Twitter accounts and send tweets seeking Bitcoin payments. During the high-profile security breach on July 15 last year, tweets were sent from the accounts of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a number of tech billionaires including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Celebrities Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, were also targeted.

Florida teen sent to three years in jail for hacking Twitter accounts of Biden, Gates, Kim Karashian

Former US President Donald Trump has requested a mail-in ballot ahead of a local Municipal Election in Florida. The request has been made nearly a week after the deadline.

After crying 'fraud' for months, Trump requests mail-in ballot in Florida

The famous Miami Beach in Florida could soon lose its charm - palm trees. In a bid to minimise the effects of climate change, Miami Beach will now look for more shade-providing alternatives to palm trees so that visitors can escape the scorching sun. 
 
According to the Miami Herald, officials are embarking on a 30-year plan to cut down on the number of palm trees in the city. As part of this, officials intend to reduce the trees to a quarter of its total canopy by 2050.

These measures are part of a bigger move to decrease urban warming and to improve air quality.&nbsp; The projects are already underway, with 1,000 palm trees set to be removed over the coming weeks.&nbsp;

The Guardian cited Elizabeth Wheaton, the Environmental and Sustainability Director for Miami Beach as saying that they had no plans for mass felling of trees. Media reports indicate that the reduction in the number of trees will be achieved not by brazen felling, but by planting 1,300 fresh shade trees instead of palm trees over the upcoming two decades.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/entertainment/popcorn-palm-trees-and-face-masks-cannes-rolls-out-drive-in-cinema-300298" hreflang="en">Popcorn, palm trees and face masks: Cannes rolls out drive-in cinema</a> 
 
Wheaton claims that this will help make the city "more walkable and pleasant". According to Wheaton, the expansion of trees with shade will help "enhance the city's brand and quality of life", the Miami Herald cited it as saying. 
 
Even then, palm trees will not be completely fazed out and will continue to be a "focal point" for Miami. Planting shade trees like oak, ash, elm, and sycamore has multiple benefits. Shade trees can help remove carbon dioxide and harmful ozone. In addition, they can also intercept rainfall.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/ufo-sighting-in-florida-triggers-wild-theories-including-trident-missile-test-362650" hreflang="en">UFO sighting in Florida triggers wild theories including Trident missile test</a>

The palm tree has become the primary associative factor with Miami and has been used in mainstream depictions of the city for many generations. Miami has 48,900 trees, out of which Arecaceae palms account for 55 per cent of the trees.

The famous Miami Beach in Florida could soon lose its charm - palm trees. In a bid to minimise the effects of climate change, Miami Beach will now look for more shade-providing alternatives to palm trees so that visitors can escape the scorching sun.

The famous Miami Beach in Florida could soon lose its charm - palm trees. In a bid to minimise the effects of climate change, Miami Beach will now look for more shade-providing alternatives to palm trees so that visitors can escape the scorching sun. According to the Miami Herald, officials are embarking on a 30-year plan to cut down on the number of palm trees in the city. As part of this, officials intend to reduce the trees to a quarter of its total canopy by 2050. These measures are part of a bigger move to decrease urban warming and to improve air quality. The projects are already underway, with 1,000 palm trees set to be removed over the coming weeks. The Guardian cited Elizabeth Wheaton, the Environmental and Sustainability Director for Miami Beach as saying that they had no plans for mass felling of trees. Media reports indicate that the reduction in the number of trees will be achieved not by brazen felling, but by planting 1,300 fresh shade trees instead of palm trees over the upcoming two decades. Also read: Popcorn, palm trees and face masks: Cannes rolls out drive-in cinema Wheaton claims that this will help make the city "more walkable and pleasant". According to Wheaton, the expansion of trees with shade will help "enhance the city's brand and quality of life", the Miami Herald cited it as saying. Even then, palm trees will not be completely fazed out and will continue to be a "focal point" for Miami. Planting shade trees like oak, ash, elm, and sycamore has multiple benefits. Shade trees can help remove carbon dioxide and harmful ozone. In addition, they can also intercept rainfall. Also read: UFO sighting in Florida triggers wild theories including Trident missile test The palm tree has become the primary associative factor with Miami and has been used in mainstream depictions of the city for many generations. Miami has 48,900 trees, out of which Arecaceae palms account for 55 per cent of the trees.

Miami is set to reduce number of palm trees as climate concerns rise

Former US President Donald Trump making his very first public speech in Florida after his white house exit. Republican top brass will be closely following Donald Trump's speech as he expected to talk about GOP's future and his own political future.

Former US President Donald Trump to address a summit in Florida

A water treatment facility in Florida was targeted by hackers last week, allegedly to poison the supply of water to the city.

Gravitas: An attempt to 'hack' water in Florida

Canadian pop singer The Weeknd lit up a pandemic-restricted Super Bowl on Sunday (February 7) with an upbeat performance of hits in front of a brightly lit cityscape evoking the theme of his newest album, "After Hours."

The Weeknd brings bright lights, bandaged dancers to Super Bowl

Mask-clad fans trickled into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' stadium on Super Bowl Sunday (February 7), as the limited crowd of attendees largely observed COVID-19 health and safety restrictions.

Mask-clad NFL fans settle into Tampa stadium for Super Bowl unlike any other

Two FBI agents were killed in a shooting incident in Sunrise, Florida and three others were wounded while serving a search warrant on a suspect in a child pornography case.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FBI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FBI</a> Director Christopher Wray’s Statement Regarding Agent-Involved Shooting in Florida <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIMiamiFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBIMiamiFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/uNFg4JcYxb">https://t.co/uNFg4JcYxb</a> <a href="https://t.co/1zQ0exjDoo">pic.twitter.com/1zQ0exjDoo</a>
— FBI (@FBI) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBI/status/1356677203887546370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The FBI said the two suspects were also dead.

Every day FBI special agents put themselves in harm's way to keep the American people safe," FBI director Christopher Wary said in a statement, adding,"special agent Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defence of the country."

The two FBI officers wounded in the incident were taken to hospital with reports indicating that they&nbsp;are in a stable condition. The suspect reportedly shot himself at home after being under siege for several hours.

The FBI agents were reportedly trying to seize the suspect's computer and related evidence in the child pornography case.

President Joe Biden expressed condolences at the death of the two FBI agents, saying: “I can only imagine how these families are feeling today, one of the things when you’re in a combat zone of the military or you’re an FBI agent or a police officer, every family dreads the possibility of a call, receiving that phone call.”

“My heart aches for the families,” the US president added.

The two FBI agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger were fatally shot as they lay siege to the suspect's house.

Two FBI agents were killed in a shooting incident in Sunrise, Florida and three others were wounded while serving a search warrant on a suspect in a child pornography case.

Two FBI agents were killed in a shooting incident in Sunrise, Florida and three others were wounded while serving a search warrant on a suspect in a child pornography case. #FBI Director Christopher Wray’s Statement Regarding Agent-Involved Shooting in Florida @FBIMiamiFL https://t.co/uNFg4JcYxb pic.twitter.com/1zQ0exjDoo — FBI (@FBI) February 2, 2021 × The FBI said the two suspects were also dead. Every day FBI special agents put themselves in harm's way to keep the American people safe," FBI director Christopher Wary said in a statement, adding,"special agent Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defence of the country." The two FBI officers wounded in the incident were taken to hospital with reports indicating that they are in a stable condition. The suspect reportedly shot himself at home after being under siege for several hours. The FBI agents were reportedly trying to seize the suspect's computer and related evidence in the child pornography case. President Joe Biden expressed condolences at the death of the two FBI agents, saying: “I can only imagine how these families are feeling today, one of the things when you’re in a combat zone of the military or you’re an FBI agent or a police officer, every family dreads the possibility of a call, receiving that phone call.” “My heart aches for the families,” the US president added. The two FBI agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger were fatally shot as they lay siege to the suspect's house.

Shooter kills two FBI officers in Florida; 3 wounded

Two FBI agents are dead and at least three others are wounded after a raid on a home in Sunrise, Florida, turned violent. The FBI agents were reportedly executing a court-ordered search warrant and according to the FBI, the search warrant was issued in connection with suspected precession of child pornography.

Florida: 2 FBI agents shot dead, 3 injured in a raid

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's inauguration preparations are underway in Washington DC amid tight security. White officials were seen making arrangements for the inauguration event. WION brings you a report.

Preparations underway for Biden-Harris inauguration in Washington DC

According to reports, Donald Trump will be leaving for Florida just hours before Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on January 20.

Trump to leave White House hours before Biden's inauguration

Linda Kleindienst Bruns registered for a coronavirus vaccine in late December, on the first day the health department in Tallahassee, Florida, opened for applications for people her age. Despite being 72, with her immune system suppressed by medication that keeps her breast cancer in remission, she spent days waiting to hear back about an appointment.

“It’s so disorganized,” she said. “I was hoping the system would be set up so there would be some sort of logic to it.”

Phyllis Humphreys, 76, waited with her husband last week in a line of cars in Clermont, west of Orlando, that spilled onto Highway 27. They had scrambled into their car and driven 22 miles after receiving an automated text message saying vaccine doses were available. But by 9:43 a.m., the site had reached capacity, and the Humphreyses went home with no shots.

“We’re talking about vaccinations,” said Humphreys, a retired critical care nurse. “We are not talking about putting people in Desert Storm.”

Florida is in an alarming new upward spiral, with nearly 20,000 cases of the virus reported Friday and more than 15,000 Saturday. But the state’s well-intended effort to throw open the doors of the vaccine program to everyone 65 and older has led to long lines, confusion and disappointment.

States across the country, even as they race to finish vaccinating health care employees, nursing home residents and emergency workers, are under pressure from residents to reach a broader section of the public. Florida, which has already prioritized a large swath of its population to receive the vaccine, illustrates the challenges of expanding a vaccination program being developed at record speed and with limited federal assistance.

“How do you do something this huge and roll it out?” said Dr. Leslie M. Beitsch, chair of the behavioral sciences and social medicine department at Florida State University. “It’s not in any way surprising — to anyone who followed it closely, for sure — that there would be halting kind of progress and missteps getting something of this magnitude underway initially, whether we’re talking about Florida or the entire country.”

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend giving the next priority after the earliest groups to essential workers and people 75 and older. Some states, including Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska, decided to vaccinate people 65 and older, even before most essential workers, and other states are following suit.

But with states and counties left to largely sort out logistics by themselves, the rollout has gone anything but smoothly.

People camped out overnight in the Florida winter chill in Fort Myers and Daytona Beach for vaccines administered on a first-come, first-served basis, a spectacle that made national headlines. Health department offices in Sarasota and several other counties, unequipped to schedule vaccine appointments on their own websites, resorted to using Eventbrite, a service usually associated with invitations to dinner parties and art exhibitions.

Palm Beach County was accepting vaccine requests only by email, said the county’s health administrator, Dr. Alina Alonso, after the county’s phone system “absolutely died.” People in the queue were warned that they might have to wait months for an appointment. In the meantime, some wealthy people with connections to health care facilities have been able to get the vaccine more easily.

Adding to the complications, the Florida Division of Emergency Management announced Sunday that its coronavirus testing and vaccination site at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens — the recent scene of long lines of people awaiting vaccination — would be shut down for much of Monday to make way for the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Experts say Florida is an example of what happens when officials attempt to distribute a vaccine that is still in very limited supply to a broad spectrum of the population. In a state with about 4.4 million people 65 and older, more than 402,000 doses had been administered as of Friday, according to federal data, the fourth-highest total in the nation. But Florida has used only about 30% of the vaccine doses it has received, behind 29 other states.

Some people have been successful, including Janice and Walter Greer, who were in the same line as the Humphreyses in Clermont on Wednesday. Janice Greer had called Lake County repeatedly, hoping to get information about vaccine availability.

Walter Greer has a brother in Ohio with COVID-19. “I couldn’t go and see him,” he said softly, welling up with tears. “He has pneumonia.”

But while the Greers got in line early enough to receive shots, many more people left without one and were quite upset.

“My heart is beating 100 miles a minute,” said Shirley LaBoy, 65, of Polk County, who got to the recreation center only to see a line of cars and a digital road sign saying “NO VACCINES TODAY.”

“I found myself on the computer all day. I feel, emotionally, all stressed out,” said LaBoy, who has been unable to see her children for fear of contracting the virus. “We are tired of being locked in. Then I get an opportunity to get the vaccine, and I can’t even get that.”

Aaron Kissler, the health administrator for Lake County, said officials wanted to get shots in arms quickly, even without a more organized appointment system available. “Right now we just wanted to get out as much as possible,” he said.

In Texas, about 527,000 residents had received at least the first vaccine dose as of Friday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. About 107,000 of them were 65 or older, out of more than 3.7 million Texans eligible in that age range. But there have been problems similar to Florida’s.

Dr. Bob Kelly, a 77-year-old retired veterinarian in Austin, Texas, said he made 20 or more phone calls searching for a vaccine before he finally connected one night at 3 a.m. on a hospital internet link that offered an appointment for several days later.

He and his wife drove 25 miles to the appointment, only to be told that supplies were so limited that the vaccine would only be given to people with aggravating health conditions. So they are back to where they started, with their names on five waiting lists at pharmacies, chain hospitals and a doctor’s office.

“That’s what’s going on,” Kelly said. “The rollout is slow, the method of administration is not efficient, and who gets it is kind of arbitrary.”

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has acknowledged that the initial rollout has been bumpy.

But he has steadfastly defended the state’s decision to open the door to all seniors, saying he could not in good conscience see a 20-something who bags groceries getting vaccinated before a grandparent, not in a state where of the more than 22,000 people killed by the coronavirus, 83% have been 65 or older.

The plurality of vaccine doses have gone so far to people between the ages of 65 and 74, not to people 75 and older who are the most vulnerable to the virus.

Some of the lag in numbers may be a result of older people who are being extra cautious about getting a new vaccine developed in record time. But older seniors may also be at a disadvantage because the process has often required a degree of computer proficiency and has generally not been clear or consistent, Beitsch said.

“Each of our 67 counties seems to be taking a slightly different pathway — and that’s remarkable, because we have a single department of health that is supposed to cover the entire state,” said Beitsch, whose 71-year-old tech-savvy brother got vaccinated in Orlando after filling out a request form that took him about 40 minutes.

The Florida Department of Health is working on an online appointment system for all counties, but it is not yet ready, though the DeSantis administration says it has been preparing for the vaccine rollout since July. It stockpiled millions of supplies and enrolled more than 270 providers to receive the shots once they became available.

DeSantis said his administration moved more aggressively than other states, getting teams of health workers and National Guard members to nursing homes the week before CVS and Walgreens pharmacies began vaccinating those residents. Florida is also distributing doses to Publix supermarkets and churches to increase community access.

“We’re going to be there for our parents,” he said in a news conference Sunday. “We’re going to be there for our grandparents. And that will do more than anything else we can do to reduce mortality and change the scope of how this virus behaves in the state of Florida.”

The lucky vaccine recipients have been thrilled.

“Everything was great,” Susan Hacker said after getting her shot Thursday at the Century Village retirement community in Boca Raton.

The state has no residency requirement for people to get the vaccine in their home county — or to be Florida residents at all. News reports in Argentina have recounted how wealthy people vacationing in Miami managed to get vaccinations.

More worrying to officials have been private institutions distributing the vaccine to people who are not in any of the priority groups. MorseLife Health System, a nursing home and assisted living facility in West Palm Beach, is under investigation by the Florida inspector general and the health department after The New York Post and The Washington Post reported that it steered vaccines to rich donors.

In an interview Tuesday, Hong Chae, the organization’s chief financial officer, said that a number of the nursing home’s board members and volunteers were offered the vaccine in case facility managers became incapacitated by the virus and board members needed “to come in and chip in,” he said.

Some hospitals in Miami have vaccinated board members as well, according to local doctors and patients.

One of them, Rosario Rico Toro, posted news of receiving the Pfizer vaccine to Facebook friends Dec. 30. “Baptist vaccination day!!” she wrote alongside an image of her COVID-19 vaccination record.

In an interview, Rico Toro, a onetime Miss Bolivia who now does charitable work for hospitals, said she had received the vaccine as a result of her donations and volunteer work for Baptist Hospital in Miami. When one of the hospital’s doctors canceled an appointment to get the shot, the hospital offered her the spot.

“They called and said, ‘As a board member, would you like to get it?’” she recalled.

The hospital did not respond to requests for comment.

Rico Toro, who is 49 and in good health, said she initially hesitated. But the hospital gave her the impression that if she turned down the vaccine, it would be offered to another board member or possibly not even be used, so she took it. “My question is, why not?”

Dr. Perri Young, an internist in Miami, said that the distribution process has been shambolic and ineffective. Even as a doctor, she said, her access to information is minimal.

“It’s crazy here,” she said. “It became sort of lawless.”

By the end of the week, Kleindienst Bruns in Tallahassee had gotten some good news: Her internist had received vaccine doses. Would she like one?

She got it Saturday. “It was so easy,” she said.

Linda Kleindienst Bruns registered for a coronavirus vaccine in late December, on the first day the health department in Tallahassee, Florida, opened for applications for people her age.

Linda Kleindienst Bruns registered for a coronavirus vaccine in late December, on the first day the health department in Tallahassee, Florida, opened for applications for people her age. Despite being 72, with her immune system suppressed by medication that keeps her breast cancer in remission, she spent days waiting to hear back about an appointment. “It’s so disorganized,” she said. “I was hoping the system would be set up so there would be some sort of logic to it.” Phyllis Humphreys, 76, waited with her husband last week in a line of cars in Clermont, west of Orlando, that spilled onto Highway 27. They had scrambled into their car and driven 22 miles after receiving an automated text message saying vaccine doses were available. But by 9:43 a.m., the site had reached capacity, and the Humphreyses went home with no shots. “We’re talking about vaccinations,” said Humphreys, a retired critical care nurse. “We are not talking about putting people in Desert Storm.” Florida is in an alarming new upward spiral, with nearly 20,000 cases of the virus reported Friday and more than 15,000 Saturday. But the state’s well-intended effort to throw open the doors of the vaccine program to everyone 65 and older has led to long lines, confusion and disappointment. States across the country, even as they race to finish vaccinating health care employees, nursing home residents and emergency workers, are under pressure from residents to reach a broader section of the public. Florida, which has already prioritized a large swath of its population to receive the vaccine, illustrates the challenges of expanding a vaccination program being developed at record speed and with limited federal assistance. “How do you do something this huge and roll it out?” said Dr. Leslie M. Beitsch, chair of the behavioral sciences and social medicine department at Florida State University. “It’s not in any way surprising — to anyone who followed it closely, for sure — that there would be halting kind of progress and missteps getting something of this magnitude underway initially, whether we’re talking about Florida or the entire country.” Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend giving the next priority after the earliest groups to essential workers and people 75 and older. Some states, including Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska, decided to vaccinate people 65 and older, even before most essential workers, and other states are following suit. But with states and counties left to largely sort out logistics by themselves, the rollout has gone anything but smoothly. People camped out overnight in the Florida winter chill in Fort Myers and Daytona Beach for vaccines administered on a first-come, first-served basis, a spectacle that made national headlines. Health department offices in Sarasota and several other counties, unequipped to schedule vaccine appointments on their own websites, resorted to using Eventbrite, a service usually associated with invitations to dinner parties and art exhibitions. Palm Beach County was accepting vaccine requests only by email, said the county’s health administrator, Dr. Alina Alonso, after the county’s phone system “absolutely died.” People in the queue were warned that they might have to wait months for an appointment. In the meantime, some wealthy people with connections to health care facilities have been able to get the vaccine more easily. Adding to the complications, the Florida Division of Emergency Management announced Sunday that its coronavirus testing and vaccination site at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens — the recent scene of long lines of people awaiting vaccination — would be shut down for much of Monday to make way for the College Football Playoff national championship game. Experts say Florida is an example of what happens when officials attempt to distribute a vaccine that is still in very limited supply to a broad spectrum of the population. In a state with about 4.4 million people 65 and older, more than 402,000 doses had been administered as of Friday, according to federal data, the fourth-highest total in the nation. But Florida has used only about 30% of the vaccine doses it has received, behind 29 other states. Some people have been successful, including Janice and Walter Greer, who were in the same line as the Humphreyses in Clermont on Wednesday. Janice Greer had called Lake County repeatedly, hoping to get information about vaccine availability. Walter Greer has a brother in Ohio with COVID-19. “I couldn’t go and see him,” he said softly, welling up with tears. “He has pneumonia.” But while the Greers got in line early enough to receive shots, many more people left without one and were quite upset. “My heart is beating 100 miles a minute,” said Shirley LaBoy, 65, of Polk County, who got to the recreation center only to see a line of cars and a digital road sign saying “NO VACCINES TODAY.” “I found myself on the computer all day. I feel, emotionally, all stressed out,” said LaBoy, who has been unable to see her children for fear of contracting the virus. “We are tired of being locked in. Then I get an opportunity to get the vaccine, and I can’t even get that.” Aaron Kissler, the health administrator for Lake County, said officials wanted to get shots in arms quickly, even without a more organized appointment system available. “Right now we just wanted to get out as much as possible,” he said. In Texas, about 527,000 residents had received at least the first vaccine dose as of Friday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. About 107,000 of them were 65 or older, out of more than 3.7 million Texans eligible in that age range. But there have been problems similar to Florida’s. Dr. Bob Kelly, a 77-year-old retired veterinarian in Austin, Texas, said he made 20 or more phone calls searching for a vaccine before he finally connected one night at 3 a.m. on a hospital internet link that offered an appointment for several days later. He and his wife drove 25 miles to the appointment, only to be told that supplies were so limited that the vaccine would only be given to people with aggravating health conditions. So they are back to where they started, with their names on five waiting lists at pharmacies, chain hospitals and a doctor’s office. “That’s what’s going on,” Kelly said. “The rollout is slow, the method of administration is not efficient, and who gets it is kind of arbitrary.” In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has acknowledged that the initial rollout has been bumpy. But he has steadfastly defended the state’s decision to open the door to all seniors, saying he could not in good conscience see a 20-something who bags groceries getting vaccinated before a grandparent, not in a state where of the more than 22,000 people killed by the coronavirus, 83% have been 65 or older. The plurality of vaccine doses have gone so far to people between the ages of 65 and 74, not to people 75 and older who are the most vulnerable to the virus. Some of the lag in numbers may be a result of older people who are being extra cautious about getting a new vaccine developed in record time. But older seniors may also be at a disadvantage because the process has often required a degree of computer proficiency and has generally not been clear or consistent, Beitsch said. “Each of our 67 counties seems to be taking a slightly different pathway — and that’s remarkable, because we have a single department of health that is supposed to cover the entire state,” said Beitsch, whose 71-year-old tech-savvy brother got vaccinated in Orlando after filling out a request form that took him about 40 minutes. The Florida Department of Health is working on an online appointment system for all counties, but it is not yet ready, though the DeSantis administration says it has been preparing for the vaccine rollout since July. It stockpiled millions of supplies and enrolled more than 270 providers to receive the shots once they became available. DeSantis said his administration moved more aggressively than other states, getting teams of health workers and National Guard members to nursing homes the week before CVS and Walgreens pharmacies began vaccinating those residents. Florida is also distributing doses to Publix supermarkets and churches to increase community access. “We’re going to be there for our parents,” he said in a news conference Sunday. “We’re going to be there for our grandparents. And that will do more than anything else we can do to reduce mortality and change the scope of how this virus behaves in the state of Florida.” The lucky vaccine recipients have been thrilled. “Everything was great,” Susan Hacker said after getting her shot Thursday at the Century Village retirement community in Boca Raton. The state has no residency requirement for people to get the vaccine in their home county — or to be Florida residents at all. News reports in Argentina have recounted how wealthy people vacationing in Miami managed to get vaccinations. More worrying to officials have been private institutions distributing the vaccine to people who are not in any of the priority groups. MorseLife Health System, a nursing home and assisted living facility in West Palm Beach, is under investigation by the Florida inspector general and the health department after The New York Post and The Washington Post reported that it steered vaccines to rich donors. In an interview Tuesday, Hong Chae, the organization’s chief financial officer, said that a number of the nursing home’s board members and volunteers were offered the vaccine in case facility managers became incapacitated by the virus and board members needed “to come in and chip in,” he said. Some hospitals in Miami have vaccinated board members as well, according to local doctors and patients. One of them, Rosario Rico Toro, posted news of receiving the Pfizer vaccine to Facebook friends Dec. 30. “Baptist vaccination day!!” she wrote alongside an image of her COVID-19 vaccination record. In an interview, Rico Toro, a onetime Miss Bolivia who now does charitable work for hospitals, said she had received the vaccine as a result of her donations and volunteer work for Baptist Hospital in Miami. When one of the hospital’s doctors canceled an appointment to get the shot, the hospital offered her the spot. “They called and said, ‘As a board member, would you like to get it?’” she recalled. The hospital did not respond to requests for comment. Rico Toro, who is 49 and in good health, said she initially hesitated. But the hospital gave her the impression that if she turned down the vaccine, it would be offered to another board member or possibly not even be used, so she took it. “My question is, why not?” Dr. Perri Young, an internist in Miami, said that the distribution process has been shambolic and ineffective. Even as a doctor, she said, her access to information is minimal. “It’s crazy here,” she said. “It became sort of lawless.” By the end of the week, Kleindienst Bruns in Tallahassee had gotten some good news: Her internist had received vaccine doses. Would she like one? She got it Saturday. “It was so easy,” she said.

‘It became sort of lawless’: Florida vaccine rollout turns into a free-for-all

Police in Florida`s Miami-Dade County said late on Sunday that they were investigating two separate shootings in which 12 people were wounded. 
 
The first shooting occurred in Little River Park at 7:07 p.m. (0007 GMT), according to authorities. 
 
NBC News reported that two unidentified gunmen started shooting at people near a basketball court. Eight people were wounded in that shooting, including six who were critically injured. 
 
Four people were wounded in a separate shooting in Allapattah, police said. The victims were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition. 
 
"My officers are on the scene of another tragic shooting involving juveniles. This type of gun violence has to end", Alfredo Ramirez, director of the Miami-Dade County Police Department, said on Twitter. 
 
&nbsp;

Police in Florida`s Miami-Dade County said late on Sunday that they were investigating two separate shootings in which 12 people were wounded. The first shooting occurred in Little River Park at 7:07 p.

Police in Florida`s Miami-Dade County said late on Sunday that they were investigating two separate shootings in which 12 people were wounded. The first shooting occurred in Little River Park at 7:07 p.m. (0007 GMT), according to authorities. NBC News reported that two unidentified gunmen started shooting at people near a basketball court. Eight people were wounded in that shooting, including six who were critically injured. Four people were wounded in a separate shooting in Allapattah, police said. The victims were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition. "My officers are on the scene of another tragic shooting involving juveniles. This type of gun violence has to end", Alfredo Ramirez, director of the Miami-Dade County Police Department, said on Twitter.

Two shootings in Florida's Miami-Dade County leave 12 wounded

Florida is known for its beaches but keeping them clean is hard work. Group of volunteers are determined to keep them clean.

Youth-led group clean Florida beaches in scorching sun

Florida is set to outdo well… Florida. Turns out, pythons in the state could be available in your favourite restaurants as a main course dish - if things go as expected.

Florida has a Burmese python problem - which are invasive species in the Everglades. Now, scientists believe that we may be able to eat them, which means they could stop wreaking havoc in the state’s ecosystem.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/why-did-florida-just-eliminate-5000-burmese-pythons-317841" hreflang="en">Why did Florida just 'eliminate' 5,000 Burmese pythons?</a>

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in collaboration with the Florida Department of Health is trying to ascertain whether Burmese pythons could be consumed as food, and for this they are measuring mercury levels in pythons.

Very common in southern Florida, pythons are nonvenomous and currently pose a serious risk to the native wildlife in the are. Pythons are not native to Florida, and were introduced as either a released or escaped pet, after which they have taken the native wildlife, altering the ecosystem.

It began appearing in the Everglades in the 1980s. State officials urge people to kill pythons if spotted, or to report sightings to officials.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/clip-of-dinosaur-size-alligator-stealing-ducks-from-hunters-in-florida-goes-viral-346503" hreflang="en">Clip of dinosaur-size alligator stealing ducks from hunters in Florida goes viral</a>

Florida currently has a programme called the “Python Elimination Program”, led by South Florida Water Management District, which is also funding the mercury study.

As part of this programme, over 6,000 pythons have been removed from the Everglades.

Scientists hope that if deemed edible, Floridians would start eating pythons to manage their populations in the region.

Mercury is found extensively in the Everglades. And pythons currently remain at the top of the food chain, where they accumulate the most mercury. But scientists just want to be sure it’s safe to consume such pythons.

Florida is set to outdo well… Florida. Turns out, pythons in the state could be available in your favourite restaurants as a main course dish - if things go as expected.

Florida is set to outdo well… Florida. Turns out, pythons in the state could be available in your favourite restaurants as a main course dish - if things go as expected. Florida has a Burmese python problem - which are invasive species in the Everglades. Now, scientists believe that we may be able to eat them, which means they could stop wreaking havoc in the state’s ecosystem. Also read: Why did Florida just 'eliminate' 5,000 Burmese pythons? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in collaboration with the Florida Department of Health is trying to ascertain whether Burmese pythons could be consumed as food, and for this they are measuring mercury levels in pythons. Very common in southern Florida, pythons are nonvenomous and currently pose a serious risk to the native wildlife in the are. Pythons are not native to Florida, and were introduced as either a released or escaped pet, after which they have taken the native wildlife, altering the ecosystem. It began appearing in the Everglades in the 1980s. State officials urge people to kill pythons if spotted, or to report sightings to officials. Also read: Clip of dinosaur-size alligator stealing ducks from hunters in Florida goes viral Florida currently has a programme called the “Python Elimination Program”, led by South Florida Water Management District, which is also funding the mercury study. As part of this programme, over 6,000 pythons have been removed from the Everglades. Scientists hope that if deemed edible, Floridians would start eating pythons to manage their populations in the region. Mercury is found extensively in the Everglades. And pythons currently remain at the top of the food chain, where they accumulate the most mercury. But scientists just want to be sure it’s safe to consume such pythons.

From predator to prey: Pythons to become a menu item in Florida

Mike Esmond walked into City Hall in Gulf Breeze, Florida, in November 2019 and cut a check for $4,300 to pay for 36 local residents whose gas and water bills were overdue and at risk of being disconnected.

This month, Esmond, 74, who owns a pool and spa construction company in Gulf Breeze, wrote another check for $7,600 to pay off the overdue balances for 114 residents to ensure they could heat their homes through the holidays.

It appears that his generosity — born of his own experience with hardship — may have inspired others to do the same, all for a community that has been hit especially hard by twin disasters: Hurricane Sally, which in September damaged the bridge that connects Gulf Breeze to Pensacola and still remains closed for repairs; and the coronavirus pandemic, which has strained the local economy and shuttered many area businesses.

“When he first came in, I thought this was incredibly generous,” said Joanne Oliver, the utility billing supervisor for Gulf Breeze, which has about 7,000 residents. “I’ve been in customer service more than 20 years, and this had never happened.”

Oliver said that in September, after the hurricane struck, a local company reached out to her offering similar help. That month, the company paid $42,000 to settle overdue balances for 252 Gulf Breeze residents. And Oliver said a local couple just volunteered $500 to settle another 14 overdue accounts.

In a phone interview Friday, Esmond said he was inspired to donate money last year after he opened his own utility bill and saw the due date: Dec. 26. His memory flashed back to the winter of 1983, when he was broke and his own gas and water service was shut off over the holidays.

“I had three young girls at home at the time, and the temperature got down to 6 degrees, with ice and frost on the inside of the house,” said Esmond, speaking from his truck at a construction site. “I’ve lived that where I didn’t have a dollar in my pocket to care for my family, so I know what it’s like to really be broke and in need.”

“I wanted to see if I could help people that might be experiencing the same thing — where they couldn’t pay their bills and their utilities were going to be shut off around Christmastime.”

Esmond said he felt that this year could be even tougher for families in Gulf Breeze, especially because of the pandemic, but also because he had seen so many homes still waiting to have their roofs repaired from Hurricane Sally.

The past year was good for Esmond’s business, as he gained new clients who decided to take the money that they had saved for vacations and spend it instead on building new swimming pools at their homes.

He began working in pool construction in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in 1968, shortly after returning from a tour in Vietnam. Esmond volunteered for the Army in 1966, and spent a year ferrying troops and supplies from a base in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, as the coxswain of a 75-foot landing craft.

Esmond moved to the Florida Panhandle in 1977, where he said people wanted to build pools year-round. His financial fortunes improved after he started his own company in 2010, and he said he now builds about 50 swimming pools a year.

“When people ask me what kind of year I had, I’m almost ashamed to tell them because it was such a good year when so many other people are suffering,” Esmond said. “And that’s why I want to share my prosperity with those who are less fortunate.”

Oliver said Friday that the city was mailing cards to the 114 families helped by Esmond, notifying them that their overdue balances had been taken care of. Whether she will be sending the same kinds of cards again next year is largely dependent on how Gulf Breeze manages to bounce back economically, but Esmond said he would be there to help families who needed it in 2021.

“We’ll just have to see how things go,” Esmond said. “I’m 74 years old and I don’t even know if I’m even going to be here next year, but I can guarantee you one thing: If I am, I’ll do something to help people out.”

Mike Esmond walked into City Hall in Gulf Breeze, Florida, in November 2019 and cut a check for $4,300 to pay for 36 local residents whose gas and water bills were overdue and at risk of being disconnected.

Mike Esmond walked into City Hall in Gulf Breeze, Florida, in November 2019 and cut a check for $4,300 to pay for 36 local residents whose gas and water bills were overdue and at risk of being disconnected. This month, Esmond, 74, who owns a pool and spa construction company in Gulf Breeze, wrote another check for $7,600 to pay off the overdue balances for 114 residents to ensure they could heat their homes through the holidays. It appears that his generosity — born of his own experience with hardship — may have inspired others to do the same, all for a community that has been hit especially hard by twin disasters: Hurricane Sally, which in September damaged the bridge that connects Gulf Breeze to Pensacola and still remains closed for repairs; and the coronavirus pandemic, which has strained the local economy and shuttered many area businesses. “When he first came in, I thought this was incredibly generous,” said Joanne Oliver, the utility billing supervisor for Gulf Breeze, which has about 7,000 residents. “I’ve been in customer service more than 20 years, and this had never happened.” Oliver said that in September, after the hurricane struck, a local company reached out to her offering similar help. That month, the company paid $42,000 to settle overdue balances for 252 Gulf Breeze residents. And Oliver said a local couple just volunteered $500 to settle another 14 overdue accounts. In a phone interview Friday, Esmond said he was inspired to donate money last year after he opened his own utility bill and saw the due date: Dec. 26. His memory flashed back to the winter of 1983, when he was broke and his own gas and water service was shut off over the holidays. “I had three young girls at home at the time, and the temperature got down to 6 degrees, with ice and frost on the inside of the house,” said Esmond, speaking from his truck at a construction site. “I’ve lived that where I didn’t have a dollar in my pocket to care for my family, so I know what it’s like to really be broke and in need.” “I wanted to see if I could help people that might be experiencing the same thing — where they couldn’t pay their bills and their utilities were going to be shut off around Christmastime.” Esmond said he felt that this year could be even tougher for families in Gulf Breeze, especially because of the pandemic, but also because he had seen so many homes still waiting to have their roofs repaired from Hurricane Sally. The past year was good for Esmond’s business, as he gained new clients who decided to take the money that they had saved for vacations and spend it instead on building new swimming pools at their homes. He began working in pool construction in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in 1968, shortly after returning from a tour in Vietnam. Esmond volunteered for the Army in 1966, and spent a year ferrying troops and supplies from a base in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, as the coxswain of a 75-foot landing craft. Esmond moved to the Florida Panhandle in 1977, where he said people wanted to build pools year-round. His financial fortunes improved after he started his own company in 2010, and he said he now builds about 50 swimming pools a year. “When people ask me what kind of year I had, I’m almost ashamed to tell them because it was such a good year when so many other people are suffering,” Esmond said. “And that’s why I want to share my prosperity with those who are less fortunate.” Oliver said Friday that the city was mailing cards to the 114 families helped by Esmond, notifying them that their overdue balances had been taken care of. Whether she will be sending the same kinds of cards again next year is largely dependent on how Gulf Breeze manages to bounce back economically, but Esmond said he would be there to help families who needed it in 2021. “We’ll just have to see how things go,” Esmond said. “I’m 74 years old and I don’t even know if I’m even going to be here next year, but I can guarantee you one thing: If I am, I’ll do something to help people out.”

Businessman pays overdue utility bills for dozens of Floridians, again

A 13-foot alligator in Florida was seen stealing ducks from hunters. The massive alligator can be seen munching on the ducks in Leesburg, Florida. The sight of alligators may be uncanny to some, but alligators are quite common in Florida. The sheer size of the alligator shocked hunters and watchers alike!

Fox News reported that Kevin Stipe and Cass Couey, who own the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prohunt_/">PRO HUNT navigation app,</a>&nbsp;saw the giant alligator while they were hunting ducks in Leesburg earlier in the week.

Watch the unbelievable visuals below:

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😲🐊 What looks like something straight out of Jurassic Park is actually a 13 foot alligator stealing ducks from these hunters near Leesburg, Florida. 
 
📹: Cass Couey <a href="https://t.co/i1miWYOd3L">pic.twitter.com/i1miWYOd3L</a>
— Brandon Orr (@BrandonOrrWPLG) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonOrrWPLG/status/1333019519728513026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Couey also shared the clip on Facebook. He wrote:&nbsp;“It’s not just fishing, Florida duck hunting has a taxman too! Monster alligator eats duck while hunting”.

<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="476" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcass.couey%2Fvideos%2F10224106188785269%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="476"></iframe>

As of now, the video is nearing 8 lakh views, with the numbers rapidly rising. Facebookers and Twitterati were quick to react to the unbelievable sight, especially the size of the alligator!

“Caught on Camera: Massive 13-foot-long alligator eats duck in Florida lake,” a Facebook user noted.

Another user wrote - "1 never going in the water again 2 hugging my ducks after I let them out in the morning 3 never going in the water again&nbsp;<img alt="🤣" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t52/1/16/1f923.png" width="16" /><img alt="🤣" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t52/1/16/1f923.png" width="16" /><img alt="🤣" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t52/1/16/1f923.png" width="16" /><img alt="🤣" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t52/1/16/1f923.png" width="16" />"

Conspiracy theorists are everywhere. A user on Facebook wrote - "I don't think the ducks were real the other ones never moved and it wouldn't of taken that long to chew it up".

A Twitter user compared it to Jurassic Park

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JurassicWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JurassicWorld</a> 
Masrani : "I never asked for a monster!" 
 
Dr. Henry Wu : "Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We're just used to being the cat." 
 
......"But you didn't ask for reality, you asked for more teeth."
— Potpourri Melodies (@PotpourriTalks) <a href="https://twitter.com/PotpourriTalks/status/1333031705314254850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Others had more pertinent questions

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Stealing ducks from the hunters? Since when do the hunters own the ducks?
— Joan Lester (@joanlester70) <a href="https://twitter.com/joanlester70/status/1333053180926636035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Another user highlighted the dangers of sailing in Florida

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Another regular day in Florida... This is seriously why I stopped sailing on lakes in Florida ❄️
— sblizzard❄️ (@Lmanysnows) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lmanysnows/status/1333150896805568512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

A 13-foot alligator in Florida was seen stealing ducks from hunters. The massive alligator can be seen munching on the ducks in Leesburg, Florida. The sight of alligators may be uncanny to some, but alligators are quite common in Florida.

A 13-foot alligator in Florida was seen stealing ducks from hunters. The massive alligator can be seen munching on the ducks in Leesburg, Florida. The sight of alligators may be uncanny to some, but alligators are quite common in Florida. The sheer size of the alligator shocked hunters and watchers alike! Fox News reported that Kevin Stipe and Cass Couey, who own the PRO HUNT navigation app, saw the giant alligator while they were hunting ducks in Leesburg earlier in the week. Watch the unbelievable visuals below: 😲🐊 What looks like something straight out of Jurassic Park is actually a 13 foot alligator stealing ducks from these hunters near Leesburg, Florida. 📹: Cass Couey pic.twitter.com/i1miWYOd3L — Brandon Orr (@BrandonOrrWPLG) November 29, 2020 × Couey also shared the clip on Facebook. He wrote: “It’s not just fishing, Florida duck hunting has a taxman too! Monster alligator eats duck while hunting”. As of now, the video is nearing 8 lakh views, with the numbers rapidly rising. Facebookers and Twitterati were quick to react to the unbelievable sight, especially the size of the alligator! “Caught on Camera: Massive 13-foot-long alligator eats duck in Florida lake,” a Facebook user noted. Another user wrote - "1 never going in the water again 2 hugging my ducks after I let them out in the morning 3 never going in the water again " Conspiracy theorists are everywhere. A user on Facebook wrote - "I don't think the ducks were real the other ones never moved and it wouldn't of taken that long to chew it up". A Twitter user compared it to Jurassic Park #JurassicWorld Masrani : "I never asked for a monster!" Dr. Henry Wu : "Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We're just used to being the cat." ......"But you didn't ask for reality, you asked for more teeth." — Potpourri Melodies (@PotpourriTalks) November 29, 2020 × Others had more pertinent questions Stealing ducks from the hunters? Since when do the hunters own the ducks? — Joan Lester (@joanlester70) November 29, 2020 × Another user highlighted the dangers of sailing in Florida Another regular day in Florida... This is seriously why I stopped sailing on lakes in Florida ❄️ — sblizzard❄️ (@Lmanysnows) November 29, 2020 ×

Clip of dinosaur-size alligator stealing ducks from hunters in Florida goes viral

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says one of his deputies was “forced to fire” on a car in a Cocoa neighbourhood, fatally shooting a 16-year-old and 18-year-old.

Two black teenagers shot in Florida, Activists allege lack of transparency

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