Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
FLORIDA CONTINUES TO GET OLDER
Florida’s population continued to get older last year from a combination of natural aging and new residents, and the state had the highest rate of residents older than 65 years old. New estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that Florida grew by 1.2 percent from 2012 to 2013, and the state now has about 19.5 million residents.
BURGLAR CAUGHT BY HOMEOWNER WATCHING VIDEO FEED
A Palm Beach County man caught a burglar in his home from more than 1,000 miles away. Greenacres police say the man was viewing video surveillance of his home on his cellphone when he saw someone enter his home while he was away in New York. He alerted his neighbor, who called police.
NO CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR OFFICER WHO KICKED BOY
Prosecutors say a police officer will face no criminal charges after being videotaped kicking a boy’s legs out from under him while his hands are restrained. The state attorney’s office in Palm Beach County said Wednesday that Officer Jermaine Jones of the Boynton Beach Police may have “poorly executed” his attempts to restrain the 13-year-old boy, but deserves no prosecution for the May incident. Police responded after eggs were allegedly tossed at a driver by students on board a school bus.
GRAND JURY RIPS DCF FOR UNDERCOUNTING CHILD DEATHS
A grand jury report slammed the Department of Children and Families for making misleading changes in the way the agency categorized child abuse deaths to make the count seem lower, but also noted the agency has made great strides since the abuse death of a 10-year-old Miami girl. In the 30-page report issued Tuesday, the Miami-Dade grand jurors noted that child deaths and abuse cases have continued since the gruesome 2011 death of Nubia Barahona who “was repeatedly abused and ultimately killed.”
FLORIDA FUGITIVE SENTENCED IN $18 MILLION VIRGINIA FRAUD CASE
A Florida man who removed his electronic monitoring bracelet and fled after being convicted in an $18 million fraud case has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. U.S. Attorney Timothy Heaphy says Osama Mustafa of Tampa remains a fugitive and wasn’t present for his sentencing Tuesday in federal court in Roanoke, Virginia.
