South Florida Local News

The National Hurricane Center expects the tropical depression 670 miles east of the Caribbean Sea to develop into Tropical Storm Peter on Sunday.

Dozens of police officers, FBI agents and members of other law enforcement agencies searched the 24,000-acre Carlton Reserve in the Sarasota area Saturday for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito.

A few dozen sunrises were enough for the crew of Inspiration4, which returned to Earth nearly three days after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center becoming the first all-civilian crew to launch into orbit.

Here are the updated statistics on COVID-19 in Florida including new cases, deaths, hospitalizations, testing positivity and hospital capacity. Florida reported 9,806 new cases Saturday, bringing the daily average to 10,971, and increased its death toll by eight.

Tropical Storm Odette is poorly organized and is not expected to develop into a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is moving away from the U.S. East Coast.

The FBI is searching for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of missing Florida woman Gabby Petito, his attorney said.

Law enforcement in Utah and Florida are not ruling out a possible connection between Gabby Petito’s disappearance, and two other women found dead in Utah.

Tropical Storm Odette formed off the East Coast on Friday.

Jack Drury, a colorful publicist whose connections to the rich and famous helped turn Fort Lauderdale into what he called a “playground of the stars,” died at age 90.

With the successful launch and expected safe return of the first all-civilian flight on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon, the company is looking to ramp up similar flights in the near future.

Judge Marni Bryson, a judge in Palm Beach County, came to an agreement for a $37,500 fine, a reprimand and a suspension on misconduct charges for not devoting enough time to her work, a deal that awaits approval by the Florida Supreme Court.

For the fourth week in a row, teenagers represent the highest positivity rate of any age group for COVID cases in Florida, and children younger than 12 represent the age group with the most new cases.

Florida is providing monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 at clinics throughout the state. COVID patients, or people directly exposed to COVID, are eligible to receive the free Regeneron treatment.

Expanding the use of a touchscreen voting machine in Palm Beach County draws the ire of several candidates in the upcoming special election, writes Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet.

A Florida hip-hop artist was shot multiple times and is hospitalized, and the car he was riding in had 22 bullet holes, after a drive-by shooting in Miami early Friday, authorities said.

Here are the updated statistics on COVID-19 in Florida including new cases, deaths, hospitalizations, testing positivity and hospital capacity. Florida reported 11,275 new cases Friday, bringing the daily average to 10,877, and increased its death toll by six.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political committee is almost $50 million ahead of his major Democratic rivals, and August only brought more big checks from around the country.

A growing number of lawyers in South Florida are balking at the idea of picking juries without being able to see their faces while they wear masks as a required shield from COVID, and while experts can’t agree on the effect of masks, few want to take chances when the stakes are high.

The fight for a path to permanent citizenship for thousands of Venezuelans in the United States is an “uphill battle” that needs the support our political leaders, advocates say.

Florida’s Republican leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson, have all said they’re open to passing a Texas-style bill banning abortions after 6 weeks. But another key GOP lawmaker has concerns over part of the law.