Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
LAWYER IS 16TH PERSON GUILTY IN ROTHSTEIN FRAUD
A Broward County lawyer has become the 16th person convicted in the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by former attorney Scott Rothstein. Douglas Bates of Parkland pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. He faces up to five years in prison at sentencing in May.
1-WEEK-OLD PANTHER KITTEN FOUND IN FLORIDA
A week-old panther kitten has been rescued from a wildlife refuge in southwest Florida, and biologists say the tiny feline would have died if researchers hadn’t discovered him. Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Thursday the abandoned kitten was found in mid-January at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Collier County.
BABY RECOVERING AFTER TRAFFIC STOPPED FOR HELP
An infant is recovering at a South Florida hospital after his aunt stopped traffic on one of Miami’s busiest expressways to get help for him. The Miami Herald reports that westbound traffic on the Dolphin Expressway came to a standstill Thursday afternoon when 37-year-old Pamela Rauseo jumped out of her car screaming for help. Her 5-month-old nephew, Sebastian de la Cruz, had stopped breathing and was turning blue.
FLORIDA FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE PUPPY FROM DRAINAGE PIPE
A group of South Florida firefighters are being honored for saving a puppy that was trapped in a drainage pipe. Sugar fell into the sewer through a hidden drainage pipe in his owner’s yard Monday. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is giving the Davie firefighters the Compassionate Fire Department Award.
NEW HIRES FOR 2 FLORIDA UNIVERSITIES APPROVED
The state board that oversees the university system is signing off on the hiring of new presidents for Florida Atlantic University and Florida A&M University. The Florida Board of Governors on Thursday voted to confirm the hiring of John Kelly as FAU president and Elmira Mangum as FAMU president. The vote to confirm Kelly and Mangum came after the board spent more than an hour with each new president.
Source: Associated Press