Florida stepdad convicted of abusing boy rescued by keen waitress at Mrs. Potato restaurant

The stepfather of an abused boy who was rescued by an attentive waitress at a Florida restaurant on New Year's Day 2021 has been convicted of false imprisonment, child abuse, and child neglect.

Florida police snipers cover rescue divers searching in alligator-infested pond

As dive teams searched the murky Florida pond for survivors of a car crash, police snipers had to have their rifles trained on the water to protect the divers from alligators.

Destructive grasshoppers invading Bay Area gardens

An invasion of mighty munchers is descending on the Bay Area as the population of Florida’s biggest and most voracious grasshopper is growing right now.

Here's what a Navy ship looks like 20 years after being sunk as a Florida Keys diving reef

The 20th anniversary of the storied intentional sinking of a former Naval ship to become an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is being celebrated Tuesday in Key Largo.

Authorities search for escaped Florida inmate

Investigators are asking for the public's help to find a Florida inmate who escaped custody last week. Deputies say the 29-year-old has an extensive arrest record with multiple felony charges, and has served two previous prison sentences in Florida.

Pinellas sheriff's office tight-lipped after deputy runs over sunbather

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office isn't responding to questions about how a sunbather was run over by one of its deputies who was driving an SUV on St. Pete Beach Wednesday afternoon. 

Florida couple, dog bear-ly escape black bear having 'a bad day'

A Ring camera captured a couple’s mad dash to the house, along with their tiny dog, in order to narrowly escape a charging black bear in Florida.

‘We're embarrassed’: Polk County sheriff volunteer arrested for selling drugs out of patrol vehicle

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says he is "hotter than a bare butt on a tin roof in August" after learning a sheriff’s volunteer officer was caught selling prescription pills out of a patrol car while in uniform.

Florida sheriff arrests own daughter for meth trafficking: 'No one is immune or exempt'

A Florida sheriff arrested his own daughter, charging her with meth trafficking. "Methamphetamine does not discriminate & neither do we. It does not matter who you are – no one is immune or exempt."

Florida sheriff promotes gun safety course for residents to shoot home invaders: 'We prefer that you do'

A sheriff in Florida is encouraging residents to take gun safety courses after a homeowner fired multiple shots at an intruder on Wednesday, stopping the individual who allegedly broke into several homes.

Florida babysitter put child in dryer, spun him around, deputies say

The boy told investigators that Amber Chapman put him in a dryer, closed the door and he “went around and round," according to the arrest affidavit.