Morning Headlines For Wednesday

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night 5 to 2 and the series is tied at three games a piece, so now we head back to Pittsburgh for Game 7 tomorrow night. Game time is 8 o’clock.

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PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT OUTSIDE TRUMP RALLY IN NEW MEXICO. Demonstrators throw burning T-shirts, plastic bottles and other items at officers, overturn trash cans and knock down barricades; police fire pepper spray and smoke grenades.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — More than 4,200 people were wrongly declared dead and had their benefits halted temporarily by the Veterans Administration during a five-year period. Congressman David Jolly says that in each of the known cases between 2011 and 2015, the people were “very much alive” and the benefits were resumed.

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US SEEKING DEATH FOR DYLANN ROOF. Though federal executions are exceedingly rare, the Justice Department wants the death penalty for the suspect in last year’s deadly church shootings in Charleston, South Carolina.

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What was the cost to Florida for opposing Gay Marriage? $213,000 and rising. State officials have agreed to pay that much to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida to cover attorney fees and other costs. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office is also actively negotiating to reach a settlement with another group of attorneys also involved in the case. Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ordered the state to pay the fees of attorneys who filed federal lawsuits challenging the ban.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants the state’s colleges and universities to do more to help students graduate within four years. Scott will kick off a two-day “Degrees to Jobs” summit on Wednesday in Orlando by calling for several changes designed to help students to get out of school sooner.

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Orange County commissioners have passed a measure requiring new daycare centers on busy roads to have outside protective barriers that could halt oncoming vehicles. Commissioners on Tuesday voted to make up to $200,000 in grants available to daycare owners who want to install concrete planters or steel posts outside their businesses.

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Bush has been elected chairman and president of the board of directors of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Bush created the foundation shortly after he stepped down as governor in 2007, but he left the organization as he ramped up his campaign for president. Bush suspended his campaign in February after the South Carolina primary.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The captain of the sunken freighter El Faro’s sister vessel says he believes the master of the doomed ship had a “solid plan” to deal with a hurricane that had sprung up quickly. Capt. Kevin Stith of the El Yunque testified Tuesday before a U.S. Coast Guard panel investigating the Oct. 1 sinking of the El Faro, which killed all 33 mariners aboard.

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FLORIDA JUDGE: SCHOOLS ARE GETTING ENOUGH MONEY. Circuit Judge George Reynolds ruled Tuesday that education groups and parents had not provided enough evidence to show that the state’s schools are not being provided enough money. Reynolds said that while the state’s schools are not “perfect” that there was not proof that it is a crisis that requires the courts to intervene. He also raised questions as to whether a judge could even order the Legislature to put more money aside for schools.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A court hearing involving the Hulk Hogan sex tape case is underway in Florida, with Gawker Media asking for a new trial. Gawker and Hogan faced off Wednesday morning in a St. Petersburg courtroom. It’s the latest chapter in a years-long legal fight. Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, won a $140 million verdict against Gawker in March. The three-week trial was a lurid inside look at the business of celebrity gossip and a debate over newsworthiness versus celebrity privacy. Earlier this month, Hogan sued Gawker again, saying the gossip website leaked sealed court documents with a transcript that quoted him making racist remarks.

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TRENDING ON TWITTER: #GIVECAPTAINAMERICAABOYFRIEND

An online campaign emerges calling for significant LGBT characters in superhero movies. But dissenters weigh in, too. Advocacy group GLAAD says the Twitter trending topic is a sign that audiences are eager for LGBT characters in their superhero movies.