CAUSE OF EGYPTAIR CRASH STILL A PUZZLE. A day after the jet with 66 passengers and crew aboard vanished from radar over the Mediterranean, France’s foreign minister says there is “absolutely no indication” of what brought the aircraft down.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning play the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight at 8 o’clock at the Amalie Arena. The Penguins currently lead the best of seven series 2 games to 1.
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Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will court voters on opposite sides of the gun debate over the next two days in events that will highlight the nation’s deep divide on the topic. Trump and other top Republicans will speak at the National Rifle Association convention today in Louisville, where organizers are trying to unite gun-rights voters by painting Clinton as a foe of their causes who must be stopped. Clinton will be here in Florida tomorrow with the mother of Trayvon Martin and other parents who have lost children to gun violence.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court says that the state’s largest utility can’t make customers pay for the costs associated with a natural gas drilling project in another state. The court ruled 6-1 yesterday that state regulators were wrong to permit Florida Power & Light to charge customers for its investments in an Oklahoma natural gas drilling project that relies on fracking. FPL has said the investment would help it stabilize fuel prices and save its customers money in the long haul. But Justice Ricky Polston, said it was “overreach” by the Public Service Commission to give a greenlight to FPL’s plans because state law limits what costs can be passed on to customers.
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ATLANTA (AP) — Concerned about the threat of the Zika virus, USA Swimming has moved a pre-Olympic training camp from Puerto Rico to Atlanta. Yesterday, a letter went out to national team athletes and coaches telling them of the change. The U.S. team is still scheduled to hold a training camp in San Antonio from July 11-21. After that, the team had been scheduled to make a stop in Puerto Rico for several more days of training before traveling on to Rio de Janeiro. The Olympic swimming competition begins Aug. 6. USA Swimming’s decision follows a move by Major League Baseball to shift two regular-season games out of San Juan because of players’ concerns about the virus.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Times’ popular outdoors editor Terry Tomalin has died after suffering a heart attack. He was 55 years old. Tomalin’s wife, St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin, confirmed that he had passed away yesterday. Family members said that Terry Tomalin and his son were taking a life guarding class when Tomalin collapsed and never regained consciousness. He joined the Times as a police reporter in 1986 and became an outdoors writer several years later. Tomalin was a fellow of the prestigious Explorer’s Club in New York City. He has lived with Amazon witch doctors, explored sunken Mayan ruins, sailed to Cuba, canoed to the Bahamas and swum around Key West.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Last week, Mercury stole the show. Now it’s Mars’ turn. On Sunday morning, Mars, Earth and the sun will line up perfectly in the sky. This once-every-two-years event is called Mars opposition. That’s because Mars and the sun will be on opposite sides of Earth. Right now, Mars is about 48 million miles from us. That won’t change much by Sunday. But on May 30, Mars will pass within 47 million miles of Earth, the closest in a decade. Sky-watchers, gazing to the southeast at nightfall, can enjoy a brighter, seemingly bigger Mars into June. The Hubble Space Telescope, meanwhile, will be zooming in for some great pictures.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Burmese python might have to step aside: It’s possible the animal is no longer Florida’s scariest invasive species. Researchers have confirmed that three Nile crocodiles were captured near Miami, and they say more of the man-eating reptiles could be out there, although no one can say for sure. The researchers’ paper says it’s likely the crocs were brought to Florida illegally, and they could be bad news for the Everglades ecosystem.
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Haus the hero dog has gone home. The German Shepherd that took three rattlesnake bites when he stepped between the reptile and his 7-year-old owner went home from Blue Pearl Veterinary Hospital yesterday.
