Florida U.S. Congressman David Jolly is dropping out of the U.S. Senate race now that Marco Rubio is hinting that he may run again. Jolly will run for the 13th district seat he has now, probably against former Governor Charlie Crist, a Democrat. Rubio has one week to enter the Senate race. He had said he was getting out of politics after his failed Republican presidential primary bid.
More Floridians are working. The state jobless rate fell one tenth of a point between April and May to 4.7 percent. Florida added 24,500 jobs in May, tops in the nation.
St. Petersburg Pride events will go on late next week despite the deadly attack on a gay Orlando nightclub. Officials now say not only will more uniformed police officers be at the event including the giant parade, but plain-clothes FBI agents will be there too. 250 thousand people are expected for the four day event.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer says donations just keep pouring in for victims and families affected by the Pulse nightclub massacre, $7 million so far. Meantime, all ticket sales from tonight’s Rays-Giants game will go to the Orlando fund. 40 thousand are expected at Tropicana Field.
One person is dead another hospitalized after a morning shooting at Manhattan Palms Apartments on North Manhattan Avenue in Tampa.
Investigators are looking for the cause of a 6 alarm morning fire that destroyed a building and damaged others at JR’s Old Packinghouse in Sarasota. They know the blaze started in the warehouse. No one was injured in the South Packinghouse Road fire.
Parents of the Nebraska toddler snatched from shallow water at a Disney hotel pond and drowned are thanking authorities who searched for their son and returned his body to them. Matt and Melissa Graves issued a statement saying they are devastated by the death of 2 year old Lane. No swimming signs that were up where the boy was grabbed will be replaced with alligator warnings.
