Firefighters responded to a large early morning blaze in Sarasota. Crews fought a 5-alarm fire at JR’s Old Packinghouse Cafe at 987 S Packinghouse Road, near Palmer Boulevard and Interstate 75. The flames engulfed at least three buildings and officials said smoke near the interstate is a concern. The Florida Highway Patrol has issued a travel advisory for I-75 at Mile Marker 209 due to possible smoke from the fire. No injuries have been reported.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say two teens are dead following a shooting outside a home near Orlando. Orange County Sheriff’s officials say the shooting happened late Thursday. The bodies of the teens, ages 16 and 18, were found on the front lawn. No further details were immediately available.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — President Barack Obama said Thursday that a military campaign against terrorism abroad won’t be enough to prevent “lone wolf” attacks like Sunday’s nightclub shooting in Orlando, as he offered condolences and support to families of the victims. “We’re going to have to do more to prevent these kinds of events from occurring.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A city that’s supposed to be a tourist paradise is enduring somber days after tragedies that include the gay nightclub massacre. Friends and relatives gathered for the funeral of club bouncer Kimberly “KJ” Morris in a suburb as President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laid flowers at a memorial of the 49 victims. A deadly alligator attack on a 2-year-old boy and the shooting of former “Voice” singer Christina Grimmie have added to Orlando’s woes in recent days.
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CHICAGO (AP) — The huge crowds expected to attend gay pride parades around the United States in the coming weeks will be greeted by more police officers as a means to protect them in the wake of the mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Florida. From Denver to Chicago to New Orleans, authorities say they are tightening security with bag searches, more police officers and private security workers and more crowd-control barriers.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The medical examiner who oversaw the 49 autopsies of the victims of the Pulse shooting says he kept their bodies separated from the gunman’s body. Dr. Joshua Stephany said in a statement Thursday that the body of gunman Omar Mateen was being held in a building separate from the victims.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite public pressure in the wake of the Orlando massacre, and an attention-grabbing filibuster in the Senate, Congress remains stalemated on guns. Votes are expected in the Senate on Monday, but nothing is likely to pass.
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(Tallahassee, FL) — Numbers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement show they ran background checks on more than 9800 gun purchases in the three days after the Orlando shooting, more than double the same time in 2015. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says they ran 3921 background checks on Tuesday, the most so far this week.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The owner of a gun shop in Florida says the gunman in the Orlando nightclub shootings came to his shop to buy body armor and 1,000 rounds of ammunition about five weeks before the rampage. Robert Abell, co-owner of Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, says the shop declined the sale because the customer raised suspicions by requesting a high grade of body armor typically used by law enforcement. Abell says the young man left empty-handed and that the shop alerted the FBI, but since no sale was made, the shop did not check the man’s ID and had no name to give authorities. Abell says store staff realized the customer was nightclub shooter Omar Mateen only after seeing reports about the carnage in Orlando.
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MEDFORD, N.J. (AP) — Family and friends are gathering in New Jersey to remember “The Voice” singer Christina Grimmie. The 22-year-old was shot to death last week as she signed autographs after a show in Orlando, Florida. A viewing will be held Friday at Fellowship Alliance Chapel in Medford, followed by a memorial service.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Comcast NBCUniversal is donating $1 million to a fund helping nightclub victims’ families and survivors. The company lost four employees and had two others injured in the shooting.
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Meat Loaf collapses on stage during a concert in Edmonton, Alberta. The 68-year-old rock singer, who canceled two other concerts in recent days, citing ill health, is taken to a hospital in unknown condition.
