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Missing girl found in canal dies

The Broward Sheriff's Office says a 2-year-old girl found in a canal after wandering out of her home has died. According to police, Jona Lilavois, 2, went out the front door of her home at about 2:30 p.m. while her mother was pulling lemons from a tree outside and her father was in the bathroom. Deputies said the front door wasn't secure when Jona wandered off. Investigators were searching for the child in the area of 3500 NW 23rd Court. Jona walked at least a quarter of a mile away from her home. A K-9 tracked the girl to a canal near U.S. 441 and Oakland Park Boulevard. She was found unresponsive in the water, BSO said. Paramedics at the scene worked to revived the child. Rescuers flew her to Broward General Medical Center, where BSO said she died Friday evening. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is planned, but detectives believe it was an accidental drowning.

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:59:48 GMT

Powerball drawing sets new record

Saturday's Powerball drawing is setting a new record. The $325 million dollar jackpot is the largest ever in Florida history. According to Florida Lottery officials, the state is installing additional terminals at some of the top-selling retail locations across the state. Saturday's Powerball drawing can be seen on Local 10 during the 11 p.m. newscast.

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:34:11 GMT

Liberty City leaders defend beautification plan

"The Putney Perspective" has some Liberty City residents and business leaders outraged. It began when the city of Miami announced $428,000 in tax money would be spent to beautify four privately owned businesses on Northwest Seventh Avenue. During his commentary at the end of "This Week In South Florida” last Sunday, Local 10’s Michael Putney said, "Why are taxpayers footing the bills for it, and what long-range difference will it make to Liberty City? I would say, not much.’" VIDEO: Putney Perspective READ: Michael Putney's Column "Spending this money on four -- just four -- businesses is absurd," Putney added. The area is in Commissioner Michelle Spence Jones's district, and she said Putney is absolutely wrong. Spence-Jones said this grant was earmarked for commercial rehabilitation. On Friday, some 70 people gathered to attack Putney's on-air comments and his op-ed in the Miami Herald. "I think it's bigotry towards the residents of Liberty City," said Leroy Jones, executive director of the Neighbors and Neighbors Association. A Chinese restaurant, a day care center, a lounge and a beauty salon will all get the taxpayer-funded makeover. It will include new paint, stucco, impact windows, doors and lighting. Putney said the money would be better spent elsewhere. "Why not take that $428,000 and spend it on after-school tutoring, special programs for kids who attend schools in Liberty City, so they will have the intellectual and social skills to get the heck out of there if they can," said Putney in his commentary. In print, Putney said it was a short-term fix that would lead to long-term failure. "This is putting lipstick on a pig," he wrote. "It was a slap in the face to every black person in this community," said the Rev. Nathaniel Wilcox. Wilcox said public money was being used to build the new Marlins stadium, so why not spend some money in Liberty City? "We are taxpayers, too," he said. Community leaders said cleaning up the buildings will increase morale and make the area attractive in the hope of bringing in new business and customers to the area. Putney stands by his editorial comments and said they are based on 35 years of reporting in South Florida.

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:31:56 GMT

Police investigate double shooting

Police are investigating the shootings of two people in Miami on Friday afternoon. The shootings took place just before 4 p.m. behind an apartment building at Northwest Miami Place and Northwest 77th Street. Miami police said someone pulled up in a dark-colored Chevy pickup truck and started shooting, wounding a man in his 20s and another in his 50s. "I heard about five shots, three to five shots," said a witness who did not want to be identified. "I didn't hear nobody. I didn't hear nobody say nothing. It was just the gunshots." The younger man is in extremely critical condition, and the middle-aged man is expected to survive. Officer Kenia Reyes, of the Miami Police Department, said that the only information investigators have about the shooter is that the person was in a pickup truck. The shootings occurred about two miles away from where a 17-year-old boy was wounded in another drive-by shooting Thursday afternoon. A suspect has been arrested in that shooting. Police said they do not know whether the incidents are connected. "We don't know what the motive is at this point, but indeed, this is the second shooting relating to a juvenile in just two days," Reyes said. Anyone with information is asked to call Miami police.

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:02:06 GMT

Gulf of Mexico to be renamed?

Can you imagine this hurricane season, Max Mayfield and me tracking a storm through the “Gulf of America”, not the Gulf of Mexico? Well for a while it looked like that could happen in Mississippi. Democrat state Rep. Steve Holland proposed a bill this week that would rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” House Bill 150 states, “For all official purposes within the state of Mississippi, the body of water that is located directly south…shall be known as the ‘Gulf of America’.” If passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, it would go into effect July 1. Even thought HB 150 was introduced it does not look like maps and textbooks will need to be re-written. Holland, a populist Democrat known for over-the-top gestures, said Thursday the measure is meant to mock other bills that would crack down on illegal immigration. At least six such bills have already been assigned for committee consideration in the state's current legislative session. Holland says it appears that the "people of Mississippi have elected a majority group to govern that wants to slam all minorities and especially Hispanic." He adds he thinks such legislation is un-Christian. Such bills have died in a Democratic-controlled Mississippi House in previous years, but Republicans won control of the chamber last November. Holland's current House Bill 150 manages to avoid even saying the word Mexico. It refers to "the body of water located directly south of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties," saying it will be renamed as the Gulf of America for "official purposes within the state of Mississippi." The longtime legislator is known for his sense of humor. Holland is a funeral director, and his funeral home gives out insulated beverage sleeves that say "We'll be the last to let you down." News of the bill spread across the Internet Wednesday after it was noticed by the website of the alternative weekly newspaper in New Orleans called the Gambit. Many websites and bloggers took the bill at face value, slamming Holland as a stereotypical Mississippi bigot. Holland, from the north Mississippi town of Plantersville, said he was getting lots of calls from national news outlets about the proposal, but was limiting interviews to Mississippi reporters. "Apparently you don't take your responsibilities seriously," wrote Bob Quasius, president of the GOP group. "Surely the State of Mississippi has more pressing matters to attend to than this. Did you stop to think of the expense of rewriting textbooks or changing maps?" Quasius said that even if the bill was meant as a joke, Holland should still withdraw it and apologize, saying Holland was wasting taxpayers' money. "It's in rather poor taste and we don't pay legislators to make jokes." Quasius said race, immigration and ethnicity were issues too sensitive for satire. "It's not the time and place for satire," Quasius said. "A leader should be sensitive and in tune with how a proposal they make will be taken." Comedian and satirist Stephen Colbert joked on his show in 2010, during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, that the body of water should be renamed as the Gulf of America. "I don't think we can call it the Gulf of Mexico anymore," Colbert said in announcing a charitable fund to help people affected by the spill. "We broke it, we bought it." So how did the Gulf of Mexico get its name in the first place? According to the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, "Sebastián de Ocampo, a Spaniard who circumnavigated Cuba in 1508-1509, was credited with the first European discovery of the Gulf. The Gulf was unnamed until the early 1540s and was considered part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish name most often applied to it was Seno Mexicano (seno='gulf" or 'bay'), although it was occasionally referred to as Golfo de Nueva España, or Golfo de México."

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:57:48 GMT

Archbishop 'awaiting details' on contraceptive coverage

After weeks of criticism from religious groups, President Barack Obama has backed down from a policy for contraception coverage, but even then, some religious organizations, including the Archdiocese of Miami, are unhappy. Obama backpedaled a bit, tweaking his policy that said religious institutions must provide birth control to female employees, even if it violates their religious beliefs. The policy has brought the president an avalanche of criticism because it forces religious institutions that oppose abortion to offer birth control to female employees. “Religious organizations won’t have to pay for these services, and no religious institution will have to provide these services directly,” Obama said. The president is trying to find a middle ground in a dispute that may not have one. Many Catholic women, among others, use birth control, often offered by their employers’ insurance plans. But the Catholic Church is totally against it. The president said he gets it. "If a woman’s employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company – not the hospital, not the charity – will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge," he said. Obama said no religious institution will have to pay directly for contraceptive services, but what if the institution in question is self-insured, like the Archdiocese of Miami? “It does not work for the Archdiocese because our insurance company is sitting in this building,” said Archdiocese spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta. “We are self-insured. We are our own mini-insurance company, if you will. So the Archbishop is not going to send a memo down to the first floor and say, ‘Pay for this.’ It’s just not going to happen.” A White House source said the administration is ready to meet with self-insured Catholic institutions to find a solution. “We will take any and every opportunity to meet with the president and his White House advisors to make this work for the Catholic Church here in the United States,” Agosta said. Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski released a statement in response to Obama on Friday, saying, “It is still not clear whether the proposed ‘compromise’ offered today is acceptable to the bishops and other Catholic leaders. The devil, as they say, is in the details – and we await more information as to the details.” Click here to read the archbishop’s full statement. The revamped policy is still a work in progress. Sen. Marco Rubio said what Obama did today is “good,” but Rubio said the Obama administration’s rules still threaten to take away constitutional rights.

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:18:08 GMT

Child remains missing for one year

The search continues for a 3-year-old girl last seen in February 2011, after police track down a man claiming to be her father in Pensacola. Police said they believe Samuel Montes took the then-2-year-old girl, Angelina Montes, on Feb. 28, 2011. Authorities have been searching for Montes and the child ever since. Officers pulled over Samuel Montes in Pensacola for a traffic stop and realized there was a warrant out for his arrest. He was taken into custody and sent to Miami, where he appeared in bond court Friday morning. In court, it was revealed that Angelina's mother tried to leave Montes last year amid domestic abuse allegations, but Montes' mother would not let her take Angelina with her. The woman left on her own and returned with agents from the Department of Children and Families to pick up Angelina, but when they arrived, Montes and Angelina were gone, according to investigators. Although police have found Montes, the search for Angelina continues. Montes is being held without bond.

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:16:14 GMT

Michelle Obama fights obesity in South Fla.

First lady Michelle Obama visited South Florida on Friday to continue her fight against childhood obesity. VIDEO: Preps for visit by Michelle Obama The Homestead YMCA Family Center was filled with dozens of children, their parents and volunteers an hour before the first lady was expected to arrive. As though the crowd wasn't already pumped up, a YMCA volunteer led everyone in a series of jumping jacks and arm-whipping jump-rope moves. "Are you ready?" he shouted. "Yeah!" the crowd replied. When the routine was over, kids were encouraged to drink water and help themselves to the snack table, which was full of packaged apple slices, granola bars and veggie chips. When Obama arrived at 4:10 p.m., she was joined by pediatricians and experts from the popular medical website, WebMD. The first lady and the doctors focused on physical fitness and the importance of eating healthy. The first lady spoke about what she and her family eat, the importance of exercise and sleep and what parents can do to play a role in what their children eat in school. This is all part of Obama's national initiative called "Let's Move," which is designed to help fight childhood obesity. Obama has appeared in schools across the country, including Dallas and Arkansas, speaking to students about eating healthy. Obama also spoke about the importance of parental involvement. "It's really important for you to keep an eye on what's happening in your kids' lunchrooms and you definitely should ask questions," she said. This time of year it might seem like all politics and mud, but to the kids in the audience, the first lady was all brain and brawn. Friends Isabella Star and Destiny Torres said they liked Obama’s advice for staying fit. “My favorite piece of advice from her was getting the parents out there and playing with their children,” said Star. “Getting outside and get moving,” said Torres. One student in the crowd, Jossiah, Brower, even got a signed t-shirt for doing the moonwalk, his favorite dance to keep active. “I got it signed by the First Lady,” he said as he held up his autographed shirt.

Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:53:40 GMT

Suspect, victims identified in fatal standoff

Three people are dead after a standoff Thursday night in which police said a man took his wife and children hostage. A SWAT team moved in on a recreational vehicle in Deerfield Beach after neighbors found a man shot and bleeding and the gunman inside claiming to have a hostage, according to police. "He was bleeding, blood all over the place," said witness Gerald Baudim. "When he was lying there, he was still breathing. He was still breathing," said witness Larraine Garneau. Joanna Beauchemin said her mother, Pierrette Beauchemin, was the hostage, and her mom's boyfriend was the one killed. She said this started when a man, identified by BSO as William De Jesus, 41, of Port Orange, pulled up in a car with his wife and two kids, asking to use Beauchemin's phone. BSO said Ovila Plante, 76, of Quebec, who was with Beauchemin, approached De Jesus, who started yelling. Plante pushed De Jesus, who then pulled out a revolver and shot Plante in the chest, investigators said. When Plante fell to the ground, De Jesus shot him in the head, killing him, BSO said. De Jesus led his wife, Deanna De Jesus, 37, and their two children, Jeshiah and Samson, ages 9 and 7, into the RV, with Beauchemin still inside, BSO said. "We see the guy closed the window and everything," said witness Rick Forteil. "We saw the man in the trailer breaking all the lights," said Garneau. Cops arrived and stood their ground as negotiators worked to coax the gunman out peacefully. Moments later, a woman, identified as Beauchemin, emerged from the RV unharmed. Police decided to make a move at about 12:30 a.m. Friday after a standoff that lasted for hours. Once inside, they found Jeshiah De Jesus dead and his 7-year-old brother, Samson, and his mother, Deanna De Jesus, in critical condition. William De Jesus took his life before cops could confront him, BSO said. Investigators determined that William De Jesus stabbed his sons with a knife from the RV's kitchen, then stabbed his wife and himself. "It was devastating to everyone who worked here all night long to have a little boy die and another little boy and woman critically injured," said Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dani Moschella. Samson and Deanna De Jesus remained in serious condition at hospitals Friday.

Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:46:26 GMT

Bank robber suspected in string of crimes

A man robbed a Fort Lauderdale bank on Friday afternoon, and investigators believe he is the same robber behind six similar crimes in the past two months. The FBI said the man went into the Bank of America at 2300 E. Sunrise Blvd. at about 2 p.m. and demanded cash from an employee. The robber stole an undisclosed amount of cash and left the bank on foot, investigators said. Although there were customers present at the time, no injuries were reported. The FBI said it believes the same man may have robbed six other South Florida banks in the past two months. Those banks include an IberiaBank in Pompano Beach on Jan. 27, a Comercia Bank in Boca Raton on Jan. 20, a TD Bank in Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 18, a Regent Bank in Davie and a Valley Bank in Hollywood on Jan. 6 and an Amtrust Bank in Hollywood on Dec. 24. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 305-944-9101 or Crime Stoppers.

Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:22:00 GMT

No Class: Funniest Yearbook Pictures

After the yearbooks came out, school couldn't end soon enough for these students. Just proves that class pictures may take only a second to snap... but they last a lifetime.

Published: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:41:44 GMT

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