Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
NASA POISED TO USHER IN NEW ERA WITH ORION
NASA stood poised to usher in a new era of exploration Thursday with the premier launch of its new Orion spacecraft. The unmanned test flight was set to begin with a sunrise liftoff. It’s the first attempt to send a spacecraft capable of carrying humans beyond a couple hundred miles of Earth since the Apollo moon program. The ultimate goal, in the decades ahead, is to use Orion to carry people to Mars and back.
YOUNG ADULTS EARN LESS, LIVE WITH PARENTS MORE
Young adults in Florida earn less, are less likely to marry and are more likely to be living with their parents compared to young Floridians in decades past. New figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show things are tougher for Floridians between ages 18 and 34 than they were for young adults in 1980, 1990 and 2000. For starters, median earnings for young Floridians in 2013 was around $30,000, down from around $34,000 in 2000 and even $32,000 in 1980, when adjusted for inflation.
SCHOOL ACCUSED OF USING STRIPPERS TO LURE STUDENTS
State and federal officials say a now-defunct, for-profit, Miami-based college accused of fraudulently obtaining millions in federal dollars used exotic dancers as admissions workers. The Florida Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney in Miami announced Wednesday that they were joining an ongoing civil suit against FastTrain College and its former owner, 56-year-old Alejandro Amor. FastTrain previously operated seven Florida campuses in Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Duval counties.
GOLD COIN DROPPED IN SALVATION ARMY KETTLE
For the tenth year in a row, an anonymous donor has placed a 1924 Liberty Eagle $20 gold coin into a Salvation Army’s red kettle in southwest Florida. While the giver always offers a Liberty Eagle gold coin, the coins are minted from different years and bring in at least a thousand dollars for the charity. A note always accompanies the coin: “In loving memory of Mimi.”
PILOT MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING ON HIGHWAY
Engine trouble forced a pilot to make an emergency landing on a north Florida highway. Authorities say the plane took off from Hilliard Airpark near Yulee in Nassau County on Wednesday afternoon. It landed a short time later on U.S. 17 near Interstate 95.
