WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Barack Obama says America is “horrified” over the shootings of police officers in Dallas and there’s no possible justification for the attacks. Obama is speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he’s meeting with leaders of the European Union and attending a NATO summit. Obama says justice will be done and he’s asking all Americans to pray for the fallen officers and their families. He also says the nation should express its gratitude to those serving in law enforcement. Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday evening, killing five officers and injuring seven others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men. Obama said earlier there was no contradiction between supporting law enforcement and making certain biases in the justice system are rooted out.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For Bernie Sanders, a campaign that began as a liberal crusade will probably end that way. The Vermont senator is still fighting for the issues that made up his “political revolution.” In the weeks since Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination, Sanders won a few policy concessions from her campaign and influenced the party’s platform. His endorsement of Clinton now is expected next week.
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WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has canceled a scheduled campaign stop in Miami following the shooting of 12 Dallas police officers. He had planned to deliver a speech titled “Succeeding Together” on Friday in Miami-Dade County, home to the largest Cuban-American population in the U.S. It is the only one of Florida’s 67 counties that Trump lost in the state’s March 15 primary. In his speech, Trump plans to touch on President Barack Obama’s historic decision to normalize relations with Cuba, emphasizing the country’s poor record on human rights. Trump has said he agrees with the concept of opening ties but thinks that the U.S. should have made a better deal.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government on Thursday tentatively approved scheduled commercial airline service to Havana from 10 American cities, further bridging the gulf between countries as close as an hour flight but long kept at a greater distance by the Cold War. The decision is another long stride in President Barack Obama’s effort to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations. Four of the approved cities are here in Florida – Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa. The airlines are Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United. The decision won’t be final until later this summer, so there’s time for the public to comment.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Questions over DNA identification process used by the Broward Sheriff’s Office crime lab has led to the suspension and outsourcing of some testing, a call for a grand jury investigation and the reexamination of closed cases. In a letter to Broward State Attorney Mike Satz on Thursday, Public Defender Howard Finkelstein called the process used by the crime lab is “tantamount to junk science.”
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Customers of Florida’s largest electric utility could get a small decrease on their power bills in 2017. YESTERDAY, The Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a request by Florida Power & Light to drop a controversial nuclear power bill charge for the coming year. The decision, which would save customers about $22 million, means that the average FPL customers will see a decrease of 34 cents on their monthly bill. But the savings could be short-lived. The utility that covers homes and businesses in South Florida may reinstate the charge in 2018 if regulators approve it. Under Florida law, utilities may recover certain costs associated with investments in nuclear power plants while the plants are being licensed and constructed. The move to reduce the nuclear power charge comes at the same time that FPL is asking regulators to raise its base rates.
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COOPER CITY, Fla. (AP) — A woman and her 4-year-old grandson got a big scare when their SUV was partially swallowed by a 10-foot-by-10-foot sinkhole near the drive-thru of a South Florida McDonald’s. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles tells local news outlets that the sinkhole started opening as Dolores Otero drove toward the drive-thru Thursday afternoon.
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A Florida Judge who punished a victim will be reprimanded. The state Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that Seminole County Judge Jerri Collins take an anger management class and attend a domestic violence course. Collins will also be publicly reprimanded. Last year, Collins sentenced a Lake Mary woman to three days in jail for contempt.
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LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Some 41 years after 19-year-old Mark Duane Woodard disappeared, Florida authorities have finally identified his remains. Diann Wells tells the Ledger that Polk County Sheriff’s deputies told her last week that remains found in 1977, some two years after her brother disappeared, were recently matched to him.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A youth baseball coach from Wisconsin has been arrested in Florida after deputies say he groped three children at a Disney resort. News outlets report that 26-year-old Nicholas Groth was arrested Thursday on five counts of lewd and lascivious molestation.
