Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
WOMAN DIES FROM APPARENT DROWNING OFF BEACH
Authorities say a woman is dead from an apparent drown off a Tampa Bay area beach. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reports that 69-year-old Kathleen Marie Shortill was swimming off Madeira Beach Wednesday afternoon. Officials say Shortill had been in the water when her husband noticed she was unresponsive. Others nearby pulled the woman from the water, began CPR and called 911. Shortill was taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
2 DEAD INCLUDING GIRL, 10, IN LEVY COUNTY FIRE
Authorities say a fire in a north Florida subdivision has killed two people, including a 10-year-old girl. The Levy County Sheriff’s Office reports that the fire occurred Wednesday morning in the University Oaks subdivision near Bronson. Authorities say 78-year-old Elizabeth Fredrick and the girl, Rhiannon Rickmyer, died in the blaze.
OFFICER HIT BY CAR FOLLOWING TRAFFIC STOP
Authorities say a South Florida police officer was seriously injured when a suspect intentionally hit him after a traffic stop. Boynton Beach police say an officer attempted to pull over a car driven by 26-year-old Byron Harris early Wednesday morning. Instead, police say Harris dumped a bag of white powder out the window and sped off. A short time later, another officer was outside his marked patrol car, preparing to place stop sticks on the road, when authorities say Harris drove by and hit the officer.
BREVARD ZOO TO GET 2 ZEBRAS
Two endangered Grevy’s zebras are moving into Brevard Zoo’s Expedition Africa exhibit. Deputy zoo director Jon Brangan told Florida Today the two female zebras will arrive shortly after Christmas. He says they’ll be sharing space with the rhinos. The rhino yard will be renovated, starting in October.
EUROPEAN SOCCER CLUBS OPENING IN US
As the U.S. appetite for soccer grows, more American kids are harboring dreams of becoming the next David Beckham or Leo Messi. Their aspirations, realistic or not, have not gone unnoticed by top international teams, which are trying to capitalize financially. European clubs like Barcelona, Liverpool and Arsenal have long sent coaches to work at U.S. summer camps, but now some are opening year-round U.S. academies aimed at finding new talent while also expanding their fan bases and revenue opportunities in the states.
