Latest news with #BocaRatonPolice
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Tracker: Anti-Trump protest in Boca; approval rating drops; Chinese spies in Florida
President Donald Trump continues to drive the nation's political conversation. As policies shift and new controversies emerge, political dynamics are changing fast in Florida and across the country. From protests and legislative moves to international tensions and key headlines out of Florida, each week brings a new set of stories tied to Trump's presidency. This tracker breaks down what's happening, why it matters, and how it could shape the days ahead. Hundreds of people lined the grassy area at the edge of the University Commons shopping plaza in Boca Raton on April 19 to protest the policies of President Donald Trump. Just about everyone carried signs. One said, "No Kings In America Since 1776." Another: "Tyranny Is At Our Door." One sign asked: "What would life be like if your immigrant grandparents had been deported without due process?" Protestors stood three and four abreast for about a quarter of a mile along Glades Road. Motorists constantly honked their horns. A Boca Raton Police patrol car was parked on the median at Glades Road. The rally, though, was peaceful. Tap here for the full story. President Donald Trump's approval ratings on the economy and inflation have fallen after weeks of tariff policy twists and turmoil in the stock market, according to a new poll released April 20. The CBS News survey of 2,410 Americans found 44% approved of Trump's handling of the economy and 40% approved of his handling of inflation, both down 4% from March 30. The president's overall approval rating dropped to 47% this month, down from 50% in March and 53% in February. Views on Trump's tariff plans varied depending on respondents' political affiliations. At 91%, nearly all Republicans said Trump has a clear plan on tariffs and trade. Only 43% of independents and 16% of Democrats said the same. In all, 58% of respondents said they oppose new U.S. tariffs on imported goods. Tap here for the full story. A former CIA intelligence officer has warned that spying by China is "happening in Florida" with state aerospace, data and engineering businesses listed as prime targets — as well as President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. Michele Rigby Assad, who served five CIA tours in the Middle East and now offers corporate security advice, said she has reached out to law-enforcement agencies across the state to alert them. She issued the warning during a talk at Palm Beach Atlantic University on April 10 and in a subsequent interview with The Palm Beach Post. "We've been trying to get law enforcement in Florida to wake up to the fact that the Chinese are super aggressive," she said during an appearance with former Florida U.S. Sen. George LeMieux as part of the LeMieux Center's Annual Speaker Series at PBAU. "They are around, and they are working here in Florida." Tap here for the full story. Diamond Walker is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at dkwalker@ Help support our journalism. Subscribe today This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Donald Trump news: Boca Raton protest, Chinese spies in Florida
American Military News
21-04-2025
- American Military News
‘Something just dropped from the sky:' Dozens call 911 to report Boca plane crash
Two dozen people called 911 after seeing a Cessna 310R crash and explode near Interstate 95 in a busy area of Boca Raton on Friday morning. The plane experienced a mechanical issue shortly after taking off from the Boca airport just after 10 a.m., officials said. While trying to return to the airport, the plane crashed just short of where the pilot intended to land. A teenage girl, her father and her grandfather were killed in the crash. They were identified by Boca Raton Police on Friday as Robert Stark, 81, of Boca Raton; Stephen Stark, 54, of Delray Beach; and Brooke Stark, 17, of Delray Beach. Dispatchers were inundated with 911 calls from people who witnessed the crash, from someone who was in a building across the street to a woman from the Boca Raton Airport Authority to drivers on I-95, according to the calls obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel late Tuesday night. They received so many calls that dispatchers began answering with, 'Are you calling about the plane crash?' The woman who called from the airport authority said the plane was 'in distress' and asked for fire rescue to respond. Air traffic control had already contacted police, the dispatcher replied. 'I know this is a really strange call,' another woman said. 'But is anybody else calling about this plane flying very low?' The operator said they were already aware. 'He's way too low,' the woman said as the operator interrupted. 'Ma'am, they're having issues. We're aware,' the dispatcher said. The dispatchers answering calls did not stay on the line long, briefly telling callers they were already on the way. 'Something just dropped from the sky and there's a big accident,' a third woman said. Another caller described seeing black smoke billowing into the sky just off the highway near Glades Road. A 24-year-old man from Boca Raton had minor injuries after he lost control while driving a 2017 Toyota Prius near the fiery crash north on Military Trail and hit a tree, Boca Raton Police spokesperson Officer Jessica Desir said Friday. The Starks were scheduled to land in Tallahassee on Friday afternoon, according to FlightAware. They were in the air for no longer than 10 minutes, National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge Kurt Gibson told reporters. Both Robert Stark and Stephen Stark were certified pilots, Federal Aviation Administration records show. Officials have not said who was flying the plane. Robert Stark had a long, illustrious history as an aerobatic competition pilot, competing in numerous contests, including for the U.S. advanced aerobatics team in an Advanced World Championship held in the Czech Republic in 1999. WPEC-Ch. 12, the Sun Sentinel's news partner, reported on Monday that Brooke Stark was a senior at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach. 'It's just extra sad because she made it so far, and right when she's about to make it to the finish line, things happen and it's really unfortunate,' classmate Jason Timothee, who wore a blue jacket Monday in her memory, told Ch. 12. Principal Sandra Edwards sent a message to parents after the crash but did not identify the student who died, citing the family's privacy. Edwards said she would contact the family to offer them support. 'As parents and caregivers, you may find that your child is processing this loss in different ways,' Edwards wrote. 'For some, this may be the first time they have experienced the death of a peer or someone in their community. I encourage all of us to approach conversations about this with care, compassion, and respect.' The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. ___ © 2025 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-Trump rally in Boca Raton draws hundreds of protesters
BOCA RATON — More than 1,000 people Saturday lined the grassy area at the edge of the University Commons shopping plaza in Boca Raton to protest the policies of President Donald Trump. Just about everyone carried signs. One said, "No Kings In America Since 1776." Another: "Tyranny Is At Our Door." One sign asked: "What would life be like if your immigrant grandparents had been deported without due process?" Protestors stood three and four abreast for about a quarter of a mile along Glades Road. Motorists constantly honked their horns. A Boca Raton Police patrol car was parked on the median at Glades Road. The rally, though, was peaceful. For Rhonda Kupfler, a resident of Coconut Creek, it was the first time that she ever participated in a political protest. "I just could not sit by and not do anything," she said. "I felt it was my patriotic duty to participate. We need to let the president know that what he is doing is not acceptable." More: Thousands in Palm Beach County rally against Trump and Musk, furious at tariffs and more More: Demonstrators in West Palm Beach protest Trump policies during downtown rally on March 4 While the protest was billed on social media as a rally for immigrants who have been illegally deported, Harriet Zeikowitz said she was there to protest everything that the president has done, adding: "If this keeps us, we won't have a Constitution." Myra Terry, 81, of Deerfield Beach said she is concerned about the negative impact of tariffs on her savings and the threat that Social Security and Medicare could be cut. "He (the president) wants to privatize everything." David Stein was one of the many protesters that carried a "No King" sign. "We have never seen anything like this. He is dragging down democracy." There were no speeches during the rally — only protesters constantly chanting: "Hey Hey, Ho, Ho Trump has got to go." The rally, held from 1 to 2:30 p.m., also attracted a few Trump supporters. For the most part, they stayed away from the rally, driving their vehicles, draped in Trump flags, around the shopping center and on Glades Road, where they were met with taunts. But two 17-year-old high school students, wearing Trump shirts, engaged with the Trump protesters, arguing whether it was right to have deported Kilmar Ábrego García to the notorious CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador without a hearing before a judge. One of them, who declined to be identified, said that the conversations with the protesters went well, adding: "I was not going to change their minds and they were not going to change mine but at least we spoke to each other." Amnon Shalev of Boca Raton, a Trump supporter, spoke with a reporter as he parked his truck in the parking lot of the shopping plaza. A flag emblazoned in blue hung from the back of the truck saying: "TRUMP WON." "These people cannot accept the fact that he won," he said. "As for due process, all they want to do is bring back gang members into the country. That's wrong." The Boca Raton protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations that have been staged across the country and in Palm Beach County. Nationwide, nearly 700 protests were held Saturday, organized by the 50501 Movement, a grassroots initiative born on social media. The group is hoping to keep the momentum following successful April 5 protests that they said drew crowds totaling more than 5 million people across the U.S. There were protests Saturday in front of the White House, a march in New York City, and a demonstration at the site near Boston where, 250 years ago on April 19, the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired. The largest protest rally took place April 5 when thousands of people in Palm Beach County protested against the president as part of a nationwide slew of events called "Hands Off," organized by Indivisible, an organization founded after the 2016 presidential election to oppose Trump. Its local chapters helped organize more than 1,200 rallies nationwide, including more than 40 in Florida. Also, protests continue each Saturday at the Tesla dealership on Okeechobee Boulevard each Saturday through April 26 to object to the role of Tesla owner Elon Musk in the Trump administration's firing of thousands of federal workers. The rallies are organized by the Democratic Progressive Caucus. Rumors on social media have suggested that Trump will declare martial law April 20. He ordered the secretary of defense and the secretary of Homeland Security to submit a joint report over conditions at the southern border, along with their recommendations on "additional actions that may be necessary to obtain complete operational control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807." The 90-day deadline he imposed for completion of the report is April 20. Invoking the Act would allow Trump to send military forces to the border to enforce federal law. The administration has not commented on what action Trump might take. Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues concerning HOAs. You can reach him at mdiamond@ Help support local journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump protesters in Boca Raton say democracy is at stake
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘Something just dropped from the sky:' Dozens call 911 to report Boca plane crash
Two dozen people called 911 after seeing a Cessna 310R crash and explode near Interstate 95 in a busy area of Boca Raton on Friday morning. The plane experienced a mechanical issue shortly after taking off from the Boca airport just after 10 a.m., officials said. While trying to return to the airport, the plane crashed just short of where the pilot intended to land. A teenage girl, her father and her grandfather were killed in the crash. They were identified by Boca Raton Police on Friday as Robert Stark, 81, of Boca Raton; Stephen Stark, 54, of Delray Beach; and Brooke Stark, 17, of Delray Beach. Dispatchers were inundated with 911 calls from people who witnessed the crash, from someone who was in a building across the street to a woman from the Boca Raton Airport Authority to drivers on I-95, according to the calls obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel late Tuesday night. They received so many calls that dispatchers began answering with, 'Are you calling about the plane crash?' The woman who called from the airport authority said the plane was 'in distress' and asked for fire rescue to respond. Air traffic control had already contacted police, the dispatcher replied. 'I know this is a really strange call,' another woman said. 'But is anybody else calling about this plane flying very low?' The operator said they were already aware. 'He's way too low,' the woman said as the operator interrupted. 'Ma'am, they're having issues. We're aware,' the dispatcher said. The dispatchers answering calls did not stay on the line long, briefly telling callers they were already on the way. 'Something just dropped from the sky and there's a big accident,' a third woman said. Another caller described seeing black smoke billowing into the sky just off the highway near Glades Road. A 24-year-old man from Boca Raton had minor injuries after he lost control while driving a 2017 Toyota Prius near the fiery crash north on Military Trail and hit a tree, Boca Raton Police spokesperson Officer Jessica Desir said Friday. The Starks were scheduled to land in Tallahassee on Friday afternoon, according to FlightAware. They were in the air for no longer than 10 minutes, National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge Kurt Gibson told reporters. Both Robert Stark and Stephen Stark were certified pilots, Federal Aviation Administration records show. Officials have not said who was flying the plane. Robert Stark had a long, illustrious history as an aerobatic competition pilot, competing in numerous contests, including for the U.S. advanced aerobatics team in an Advanced World Championship held in the Czech Republic in 1999. WPEC-Ch. 12, the Sun Sentinel's news partner, reported on Monday that Brooke Stark was a senior at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach. 'It's just extra sad because she made it so far, and right when she's about to make it to the finish line, things happen and it's really unfortunate,' classmate Jason Timothee, who wore a blue jacket Monday in her memory, told Ch. 12. Principal Sandra Edwards sent a message to parents after the crash but did not identify the student who died, citing the family's privacy. Edwards said she would contact the family to offer them support. 'As parents and caregivers, you may find that your child is processing this loss in different ways,' Edwards wrote. 'For some, this may be the first time they have experienced the death of a peer or someone in their community. I encourage all of us to approach conversations about this with care, compassion, and respect.' The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cessna plane crash victims identified as girl, 2 pilots from Boca Raton and Delray
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The three people who died after a Cessna 310R crashed and burned in Boca Raton on Friday morning as it tried to return to the airport have been identified as a teenage girl, her father and her grandfather, all from Palm Beach County. The small plane, built in 1977, took off from the Boca airport just after 10 a.m. and was headed for Tallahassee but reported a mechanical issue and crashed while returning to the airport, officials said Friday. Kurt Gibson, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, told reporters the plane was in the air for no longer than 10 minutes. Those who died were Robert Stark, 81, of Boca Raton; Stephen Stark, 54, of Delray Beach; and Brooke Stark, 17, of Delray Beach, Officer Jessica Desir, a spokesperson for Boca Raton Police, said late Friday night. Desir did not say who was flying the plane. Both Robert and Stephen Stark were certified pilots. Stephen Stark was a certified private pilot and had single-engine and multi-engine aircraft ratings, FAA records show. Robert Stark was also a certified private pilot with single-engine land and sea ratings, as well as multi-engine land and instrument ratings. An instrument rating is earned by training to fly solely by referencing instruments. At 10:13 a.m., Boca Raton Airport personnel notified police and fire rescue that the plane was 'having trouble maintaining control' and was circling the area, Desir said. A 24-year-old man from Boca Raton driving a 2017 Toyota Prius was also injured when he lost control while driving north on Military Trail near the fiery crash and hit a tree. He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Desir said. North Military Trail between Northwest 19th Street and Butts Road was closed all of Friday and is expected to remain closed through the weekend. Prior to Friday, the plane was last flown on three short, local trips on March 14, once two days earlier and once in late February, each under an hour, according to FlightAware. Robert Stark had flown the Cessna 310R for many years, his friend Christopher Magon told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The two met in 2011 while sharing a hangar at the Boca airport. Stephen Stark, Robert's son, had also previously flown the Cessna 310R. The family used it for recreation and business, Magon said. Brooke Stark was his daughter. 'A pilot for most of his life,' Robert Stark was a high-level aerobatic competition pilot and competed with the Cessna 310R, along with an aerobatic aircraft he sold within the last few years, Magon said. 'Bob was passionate about it. It was something that he loved,' Magon said. He owned U.S. Info-Comm Inc., a national IT and communications company based in Deerfield Beach. State business records show it is a family-run business, with his son Stephen Stark listed as the company's president. The Sun Sentinel reported in 1999 that Robert Stark flew for the U.S. advanced aerobatics team in an Advanced World Championship held in the Czech Republic. He placed 16th out of 60. He had been an aerobatics pilot since 1991 and by eight years later had competed in about 30 contests, with six first-place wins. He was able to perform hundreds of different figures in the air, he told the newspaper at the time, and regularly flew a pattern over the Palm Beach-Broward County line to prepare for contests. In late 1999, Stark was the manager of the U.S. Aerobatics Team, part of the International Aerobatic Club. He was the president of the International Aerobatic Club Chapter 23 in 2022. 'My aerobatics flying has nothing to do with money; I fly aerobatics because I love it. It releases me from the pressures of life,' Robert Stark told the Sun Sentinel in 1999. 'I fly for the thrill of competition, to fly better than my peers.' ——— (Information from the Sun Sentinel archives contributed to this report.) ———
