Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
VENEZUELANS ARRESTED ON DRUG CONSPIRACY CHARGES
Two prominent Venezuelans have been charged in a Miami federal court on drug conspiracy charges. Former Venezuelan Interpol director Rodolfo McTurk and former judge and attorney Benny Palmeri Bacchi are accused of conspiring with a Colombia drug trafficker to distribute cocaine en route to the United States. A judge postponed a bond hearing on Thursday.
3 FORMER LAB MONKEYS NOW IN GAINESVILLE SANCTUARY
Gainesville just got three new residents from Ohio: former lab monkeys rescued from Wooster University, which has ended experimentations on the creatures. Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary on Thursday said it accepted the capuchin monkeys named Gizmo, Alex and Jake. The three capuchins join two other related monkeys rescued from the same facility, Pip and Zeke.
PINE BARK SHORTAGE AN ISSUE FOR BLUEBERRY GROWERS
Florida’s blueberry growers say this blossoming crop is threatened by a shrinking supply of a key ingredient: pine bark. A shortage of the bark has left some scrambling to find a supplier with enough to sell. Limestone in some parts of Florida leave the soil too alkaline for blueberries, so growers have relied on layers of pine bark to lower the pH.
CUBAN HIJACKER APPEALS 20-YEAR US PRISON SENTENCE
An American who hijacked a jetliner to Cuba decades ago is appealing the 20-year prison sentence he got after pleading guilty to U.S. kidnapping charges. The attorney for William Potts Jr. filed a notice of appeal Thursday. Potts has been seeking credit for the 13 years he spent in Cuba after hijacking the jet in 1984 on its way from New York to Miami.
NATIONAL GUARD RECRUITER CHARGED WITH FRAUD
A Tampa Bay area National Guard recruiter is facing federal charges after authorities say he falsified numbers to earn about $78,000 in bonuses. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa reported Thursday that 46-year-old Travis Devall has been charged with 10 counts that include conspiracy to commit and the commission of wire fraud, theft of government property, and funds and aggravated identity theft.
