Latest news with #NBCSouthFlorida
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Florida becomes second state to ban fluoride in public water
Florida has become the second state to officially ban fluoride in public water. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, into law Thursday. The bill doesn't specifically mention the word 'fluoride,' but it effectively bans the mineral by preventing 'the use of certain additives in a water system.' It will go into effect July 1. "You've had this debate, and really Florida's led on this, too, partially because our Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, has really led the charge by going to counties and saying forcing fluoride into your water is actually not good," DeSantis, a Republican, said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. "Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that's fine. But forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people. They don't have a choice." DeSantis said the fluoridation of water violates 'informed consent.' He also said the mineral has been proven to negatively affect pregnant women and children, inviting medical professionals, including Ladapo, to talk about the mineral's side effects. A study published in 2019 suggested that IQ levels were slightly lower in kids whose mothers had higher measures of fluoride in their urine during pregnancy, but its research was far from conclusive. The governor argued that there are other ways residents can get access to fluoride if they'd like and stressed that the mineral shouldn't be mandated by governments. 'There's nothing preventing you in your house from adding fluoride to your water,' DeSantis said. DeSantis signed the bill in Miami, where Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoed a fluoride ban that the county commission passed last month. NBC South Florida reported the commission voted 8-4 in favor of overriding Cava's veto last week. Cava, a Democrat, has openly criticized the plan to ban fluoride in the state. 'I am deeply disappointed by the Florida Legislature's decision to pursue a statewide ban on water fluoridation, a decision that disregards the overwhelming consensus of dentists, doctors, and medical experts and will end a practice that has been in place for decades to protect our health,' she said in a statement issued last month. Florida is following in the footsteps of Utah, where Gov. Spencer Cox, also a Republican, signed a bill in late March prohibiting any person or government entity from adding the mineral to the state's water systems, making it the first state to do so. It went into effect last Wednesday. The anti-fluoridation movement has been gaining popularity, seemingly fueled by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said drinking fluoridated water has no 'systemic advantage.' Major public health groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support adding fluoride to water, saying that drinking fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities. All studies have shown that it reduces tooth decay by 25%. Legislation to ban fluoride has circulated in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Hawaii, which has never mandated water fluoridation, has the 'highest prevalence of tooth decay in the United States' among its children, with only 11% of its residents served by fluoridated community water systems, according to a 2015 study of third graders throughout the state by the state health department. CORRECTION (May 15, 2025, 3:40 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated when Utah's fluoride ban went into effect. It was last Wednesday, May 7, not next Wednesday. This article was originally published on
NBC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Florida becomes second state to ban fluoride in public water
Florida has become the second state to officially ban fluoride in public water. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, into law Thursday. The bill doesn't specifically mention the word "fluoride," but it effectively bans the chemical compound by preventing "the use of certain additives in a water system." It will go into effect July 1. "What this does with respect to putting fluoride in the water supply is it basically doesn't allow that anymore in the state of Florida," DeSantis said during a news briefing Tuesday afternoon before he signed the bill. The governor also signed SB 56 into law on Tuesday, a bill brought forward by Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-FL., that criminalizes any form of weather modification, including cloud-seeding, which is used to bring rain to places that need it. Supporters of weather modification argue that it can hinder the impacts of global warming. Garcia fainted during the briefing on Tuesday while discussing the bill but quickly recovered and continued her remarks. DeSantis called the fluoridation of water "forced medication," saying that it violates "informed consent." He also said the mineral has been proven to negatively impact pregnant women and children, inviting medical professionals, including Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, to talk about the mineral's side effects. A study published in 2019 suggested that IQ levels were slightly lower in kids whose mothers had higher measures of fluoride in their urine during pregnancy, but its research was far from conclusive. The governor argued that there are other ways residents can get access to fluoride if they'd like, and stressed that the mineral shouldn't be mandated by governments. "There's nothing preventing you in your house from adding fluoride to your water," he said. DeSantis, a Republican, signed the bill in Miami, where Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoed a fluoride ban that the county commission passed last month. NBC South Florida reported the commission voted 8-4 in favor of overriding Cava's veto on Tuesday. DeSantis mentioned the commission vote in his briefing Tuesday afternoon, saying that they "voted the right way." Cava, a Democrat, has openly criticized the plan to ban fluoride in the state. "I am deeply disappointed by the Florida Legislature's decision to pursue a statewide ban on water fluoridation, a decision that disregards the overwhelming consensus of dentists, doctors, and medical experts and will end a practice that has been in place for decades to protect our health," she said in a statement issued last month. Florida is following in the footsteps of Utah, where Gov. Spencer Cox, also a Republican, signed a bill in late March prohibiting any person or government entity from adding the mineral to the state's water systems, making it the first state to do so. It will go into effect on Wednesday. The anti-fluoridation movement has been gaining popularity, seemingly fueled by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said drinking fluoridated water has no "systemic advantage." Major public health groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support adding fluoride to water, saying that drinking fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities. All studies have shown that it reduces tooth decay by 25%. Legislation to ban fluoride has circulated in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Hawaii, which has never mandated water fluoridation, has the 'highest prevalence of tooth decay in the United States' among its children, with only 11% of its residents served by fluoridated community water systems, according to a 2015 study of third graders throughout the state by the State Health Department.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Lawyers unveil shocking new theory about Florida honor roll student, 13, 'who murdered mom as she slept'
Attorneys for an honor roll student who allegedly admitted to murdering his mom when he was 13 have said he may not be the killer. Derek Rosa, 14, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder after his mother Irina García was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife in their Florida home in 2023. But his attorneys have now said they're exploring 'evidence of an alternative suspect', according to court records seen by NBC South Florida. Lawyers for the teenager have said they would like to investigate Frank Ramos, who is Rosa's stepfather and García's husband. According to records, Ramos provided detailed descriptions about the killing in his Facebook messages, including how the victim screamed for help and fought back. 'The messages are exculpatory because they raise the possibility of an alternate theory, that of course includes the culprit not being Derek Rosa,' attorneys wrote in a motion. 'The stepfather having such specific details of the incident while at the same time claiming that he did not witness the incident, raises the possibility that he was in fact present during the incident, at the very least watched it.' Ramos is currently set to appear in Rosa's trial as a witness in June 2025. Bodycam footage showed the moment police stormed García's Hialeah home and arrested the honor roll student. 'Hands up! Hands up, come here, get on the ground!' One cop yells as Rosa emerges in pajamas. He is forced to the ground and placed in handcuffs while officers rush into the apartment. 'There's a knife in my room,' Rosa tells the cop, who then shouts the information to his colleagues. 'There's a baby,' the teen adds. 'How's the baby? Did you do anything to the f***ing baby?' the cop demands, but Rosa says he left the infant unharmed. Police said once they entered García's room they found the 39-year-old mom dead in her bed next to the crib containing her 14 day old baby. So far there has been no indication of a motive. Rosa's lawyers has recently indicated that they may seek an insanity defense. In other bodycam footage, Rosa's devastated grandmother can be heard explaining in Spanish to a cop of her grandson never appeared to have any issues. 'I've never seen him with any mental problems or anything like that, he's a normal kid, intelligent,' she said in Spanish. 'I don't know what happened…all I know is I don't have a daughter anymore.' The teen entered a not guilty plea in December 2023 after his arrest in October. However, interrogation footage showed the teen describing the size and color of the knife he allegedly used to commit the crime. He was further questioned by detectives who asked: 'Your mom was sleeping?' Rosa went on to confirm: 'Yeah, she was sleeping.' The video showed the teenager showing detectives his bloody hands and pointing to his neck when asked where he stabbed his mother. He also told the detective that his mother screamed when he attacked her, before he then asked for an attorney. On December 15, 2023, a pre-trial hearing saw prosecutors playing a recording of Rosa allegedly speaking to a detective directly after the stabbing, where he said: 'I woke up, I grabbed one of the kitchen knives and I went to her room... I killed her.' After hearing the disturbing tape, Miami Dade Circuit Judge Richard Hersch ordered the teen to be held in an adult jail until his trial commences. At a separate hearing, baby-cam footage showed Rosa standing over his sleeping mother in her bed, moments before he allegedly stabbed her 46 times. The 13-year-old was seen in eerie black-and-white images looming over his mom with a time stamp at 11 pm. Rosa called 911 to report the murder around 11:30 pm. Rosa is also accused of taking a smiling selfie to a friend directly after the killing, where he was sticking his tongue out with what appears to be blood smeared on his hands. Police said after taking the pictures, Rosa asked a dispatcher if the move was 'bad'. He also allegedly claimed that he found two guns owned by his stepfather after the stabbing and planned to commit suicide but didn't go through with the plan. Rosa's family expressed shock over the charges and said he was a 'good kid' and that 'no one could imagine this would ever happen'. The detective who interviewed Rosa after he allegedly carried out the murder, Hialeah Police officer Joseph Elosegui, said that investigators found additional evidence after looking through Rosa's internet activity. He claimed the 13-year-old researched the best way to kill someone and whether a small knife would be able to cut through bone. Rosa will stand trial as an adult and has had multiple requests for transfers to a juvenile prison denied.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
3 people dead after small plane crashes near Boca Raton Airport in Florida
Three people onboard a small plane died after it crashed Friday morning near the Boca Raton Airport in Florida. One person on the ground sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Michael LaSalle, the Boca Raton Fire Rescue Assistant Chief, said at a news conference. The plane's pilot reported rudder issues shortly before the crash, a source with knowledge of the situation told NBC News. The Cessna 310 aircraft left the Boca Raton Airport when it went down around 10:20 a.m. ET. It was headed to Tallahassee International Airport. The plane seemed to circle in the air before turning back toward the airport in Boca Raton, NBC South Florida reported. Witnesses who work in the area reported seeing the aircraft flying low and then felt the building shake. The plane burst into flames after it crashed, according to the news station. It's believed the person injured drove through a fireball and crashed into a tree, LaSalle said. Video showed debris scattered across a roadway and on train tracks, the station reported. What appeared to be two bodies could be seen in the debris as well as a damaged vehicle, NBC South Florida reported. Police said in a post on X just before 11 a.m. that the area of Military Trail and Glades Road was closed due to the crash. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. "On behalf of the city, we express our heartbreak at this tragic loss of life," Mayor Scott Singer said at the news conference. The Boca Raton airport briefly closed following the crash. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Florida Woman Gets Into Terrifying Fight with Alligator in Effort to Save Her Beloved Dog
There are no lengths that some people will go for their pets. They're like our children! Take Kim Spencer, a woman from south Florida who fought off the impossible to save her precious pet. The dog was almost snapped up by a six-foot alligator. But it was thanks to Spencer's brave actions that her pup is here today. "Her whole head was inside its mouth,' Spencer recalled to People magazine. The dog mom was walking with her 9-year-old pup Kona on April 1 when the scariest thing imaginable happened. The two were taking their evening walk when the alligator emerged from a lake nearby and went after Kona. Things moved fast. Before Spencer could think, the alligator had grasped Kona's head between its was little time to act. Every second counted. Which is why the dog mom decided to leap into action. 'She's facing it, it's facing her, and it jumped out and got her,' she told the news outlet. According to NBC South Florida, at one point the alligator started dragging Kona into the water. The gator then had the dog's 'whole front portion, including under her arm,' in its mouth. 'So I jumped on its back and was trying to pry its jaws open,' she explained. 'I stopped thinking and just dove on it, jumped on it and straddled it, as lady-like as that is, and was trying to pry its jaws open,' she added to People. If that sounds positively terrifying, it was! Spencer admitted that under normal circumstances she was 'always afraid of gators, snakes, you name it.' But when it comes to your pet, those fears fall by the wayside. Thankfully the woman's quick-thinking managed to save Kona's life. She managed to free Kona and the two got away. Kona had some deep bite wounds but managed to survive, while Spencer needed some stitches. The two were shaken but seemed to be okay. 'We just got lucky because just as quickly as it ran after us, it ran back into the water, and we were out of there,' Spencer recalled. Despite her injuries, Spencer had zero regrets about rescuing Konda. 'I would do it all over again,' she told WFLA News. 'I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let her be taken away.' Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.
