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Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Researchers discover unexpected threat to dolphins off US shores — here's what's happening
A study has revealed another worrying consequence of seagrass dying in Florida's Indian River Lagoon that's now hitting the region's most iconic marine mammals. Researchers found that declining seagrass beds (which support everything from shrimp to fish) are making it harder for dolphins to hunt and survive, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The Indian River Lagoon, one of North America's most biodiverse estuaries, has lost more than half its seagrass over the past decade due to poor water quality, algae blooms, and nutrient pollution. Without seagrass, fish populations plummet. In this case, dolphins, which once thrived in the area, are now showing signs of malnutrition and habitat stress. As the base of the ecosystem vanishes, so do the species that dolphins rely on to feed. Some have been found severely underweight, while others are showing unusual foraging behavior that signals growing distress. Researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida said 17% of the dolphin deaths between 2000 and 2020 were caused by malnutrition, a number that is likely an undercount. The collapse of marine habitats like seagrass meadows isn't just threatening dolphins — it threatens the fishing industries and local economies that depend on them. Events like these weaken coastal protections and signal a broader breakdown of biodiversity. While dolphins could look for another location where food is more plentiful, they typically stay within their territories. As seagrass disappears, species like shrimp and ladyfish are losing habitat. This provides the dolphins with less to eat. It's a stark reminder that when we harm nature's foundation, the damage affects the entire food chain, including us. Fortunately, some areas of the Indian River Lagoon are beginning to recover, with seagrass making a small comeback. Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home? Yes — always Yes — often Yes — sometimes No — never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Florida has pledged $100 million to upgrade septic systems and reduce runoff through the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program. Meanwhile, The Nature Conservancy is backing tech that cuts pollution from urban neighborhoods, offering hope that targeted investment and restoration efforts may reverse some of the damage. On a personal level, being aware of local environmental issues is also key to mitigating them. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Immigration arrests surge in Central Florida. Could they max out Orange's jail?
Pressure from the Trump administration to escalate immigration arrests has led to huge spike in the number of people detained by ICE in Central Florida and raised fears that the Orange County jail could eventually hit its capacity. The number of detainees held in the local jail for immigration violations so far this year is nearly 400% higher than last year, officials said. Before a panel of sheriffs and police chiefs last month, Orange Public Safety Director Danny Banks warned of the possible consequences of the surge of detainees — including some who had never before set foot in the county. 'I'm fearful that it's going to lead us to maxing out our jail space,' he said of an influx of ICE inmates coming from Orange and neighboring counties. The Pinellas County sheriff is already staring down Banks' fears, with 200 inmates in his county jail sleeping on the floor because of the flood of new detainees held for immigration violations. In the past month alone, 267 people were booked into the Orange County jail solely on immigration charges, compared with 259 in the prior four months combined, according to data obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. The Orange County jail is one of only a handful in the state authorized to hold people for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That means people arrested in places as far away as Indian River and Polk counties — in some cases about 100 miles from the jail just south of downtown Orlando — are being booked into the local facility. Banks said if arrests keep climbing as expected, as more local law enforcement agencies are deputized by federal authorities, the county jail's bed space could be maxed out. 'I do think it's going to get to that,' Banks said Friday. 'I expect the numbers will go up. That will increase the daily number of bookings and we're going to get closer and closer to our capacity.' As of Friday morning, 3,099 inmates were housed at the Orange County Jail, which has a capacity of about 4,000 beds. About 10 of those were from outside of Orange on ICE detainers, said Tracy Zampaglione, a jail spokesperson. Banks said that the number fluctuates day to day, with little notice. For instance, on one recent day, the Florida Highway Patrol brought over about 40 immigration detainees from Lake County, Banks said. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said his county, which like Orange has a federal agreement with ICE, wants federal leaders to let all of Florida's jails house those arrested in their respective counties. 'We have to keep other housing units free for these ICE inmates, which are coming from all over the place, before they can get them on the bus' to an Ice processing center, he said. 'We're out of space,' he added. 'There's an infrastructure problem.' Across Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties combined, local authorities have seen 1,796 people who have been processed with ICE detainers so far this year, with 1,485 turned over to federal authorities, according to data obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. In all of 2024, Orange County booked about 800 people on such detainers. By May 28, 2025's count had already hit 1,314 people. That surge is largely a product of federal authorities inputting thousands more warrants into the National Crime Information Center, which alerts law enforcement of a warrant when they plug somebody's name into a computer during traffic stops or other encounters. 'Any occasion in which law enforcement comes across someone where they run their information — a traffic stop, or they show up to the house for an argument, historically that call didn't necessitate an arrest,' Banks said. 'Unfortunately, now they're forced to arrest them.' Fewer than 1 in 5 of Central Florida's ICE detainees so far this year were charged with felonies, ranging from 11.5% in Lake to 18.6% in Orange. Last week, Axios reported the Trump administration was pushing for ICE to bump its daily arrests to 3,000 per day, with a White House spokesperson saying 'keeping President Trump's promise to deport illegal aliens is something the administration takes seriously.' White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller confirmed the story on Fox News and said that was the minimum goal, and that it would only climb higher over time. The State Immigration Enforcement Council, made up of sheriffs and chiefs appointed by state leaders, voted last month on a resolution calling on the Trump administration to allow inmates to be housed in all county jail facilities, not just those with agreements like Orange has had for decades. The same resolution stated Florida was ready to set up a 10,000-bed facility to house migrants, if federal funding was issued. Polk Sheriff Grady Judd, who chairs the committee, said he had 200 beds at his jail that he could use. 'If our county jails under the Florida Model Jail Standards are good enough to house non-convicted US citizens, certainly it ought to be satisfactory to house illegal immigrants who are here with a deportation warrant,' Judd said. rygillespie@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Nobody's perfect': Billy Napier comments on Florida football CB's arrest in May
Florida football head coach Billy Napier broke his silence Wednesday on the status of junior cornerback Dijon Johnson, who was arrested May 2 in Tampa on multiple charges, including two felonies. Speaking at the SEC's annual spring meetings, Napier confirmed Johnson remains with the Gators and is currently enrolled in summer classes while working out with the team. Advertisement "We'll handle all the discipline internally," Napier said on Wednesday at the SEC Spring Meetings, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "We're gonna let things take their course. We started some of that process with (Johnson) in-house already. He's back in summer school and working with our team." Johnson, 21, was arrested by the Tampa Police Department late on May 2 and booked in Hillsborough County during the early hours of May 3. Johnson faces multiple charges, including possession of a controlled substance (third-degree felony), possession of a firearm during commission of a felony (second-degree felony), misdemeanor possession of cannabis under 20 grams and resisting an officer without violence (misdemeanor). He was released on an $8,500 bond the following day. The arrest affidavit, obtained by Swamp247, details that Johnson was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction and became argumentative with officers. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of marijuana and synthetic marijuana in a backpack containing his passport, as well as a loaded Glock 19 handgun. Advertisement Despite initial claims that the substance was creatine from the football facility, field tests at the scene tested positive for illegal substances. Court records show Johnson filed written pleas of not guilty on all charges and waived his appearance at arraignment. Napier said he hopes the situation serves as a "teachable moment" for the entire team. "You represent your family, you represent your institution as a whole and then I think the program in general," Napier stated. "And that specific group of players as a team that we've worked hard to create. So over time, we're hopeful that a lot of these things that we talk about stick." Advertisement Johnson appeared in all 13 games for Florida in 2024, making five starts and finishing with 27 total tackles, two pass breakups and two tackles for loss. He earned a starting role midway through the season and was a key part of the secondary despite battling an upper-body injury late in the year. Napier acknowledged that while mistakes happen, the program's culture and evaluation processes are designed to address such challenges. "But nobody's perfect, and they love football and I think that creates opportunities to teach a lot in terms of how to be someone that's respected, and to be accountable," Napier said. "... But in general, you've got to pick the right ones too, that's part of it. Recruiting, evaluating, it's all part of the program." Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: 'Nobody's perfect': Billy Napier talks Florida football CB's arrest
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Maxwell: Will Florida's new U.S. Attorney target corruption?
After covering politics in Florida for more than a quarter century, I've concluded that one of the biggest problems is corruption. Not just that it takes place — and boy, does it — but that so many of this state's prosecutors and law-enforcement agencies seem totally disinterested in curbing it. Some are lazy. Some are complicit. Some prefer to make big shows about arresting low-level offenders over doing the hard and feather-ruffling work required to go after the politically connected. Whatever the reason, very few Florida prosecutors have made targeting corruption a top priority. If you want proof, I have two words for you: Joel Greenberg. The guy was a one-man wrecking ball to the public trust and coffers. Yet it wasn't Florida investigators who were hot on Greenberg's trail. It was the Orlando Sentinel. This newspaper wrote story after story about the former tax collector abusing his position, handing out bogus contracts to politically connected cronies and even paying three of his former groomsmen more than $600,000. And do you know what state prosecutors did about all this? Nothing. It wasn't until the feds swooped in that Greenberg was held to account, ultimately pleading guilty to six felonies that netted him an 11-year prison sentence. That's why federal prosecutors are important. That's also why I was particularly interested in the story in Wednesday's newspaper about the new U.S. Attorney for Florida's Middle District — the guy who replaced the former federal prosecutor who went after Greenberg. I wanted to know what crimes he plans on prosecuting. Greg Kehoe's top priority, as listed in the piece from the Tampa Bay Times, were immigration crimes. He also cited fraud. Nowhere was the word 'corruption' even mentioned. Greg Kehoe outlines priorities as new Orlando-area U.S. attorney Now, that doesn't necessarily mean Kehoe plans on giving corrupt pols a pass. I emailed him Tuesday to ask him if corruption was also one of his priorities. He didn't immediately respond. But we should find out soon enough. Hardly a month goes by without some public official in Florida doing something that merits probing. And Kehoe already has a test case on his hands with former State Rep. Carolina Amesty, whom the feds have accused of fraudulently obtaining money meant for COVID relief and using it for personal expenses. Former state Rep. Carolina Amesty charged with stealing COVID-19 relief funds Kehoe actually made a point of citing pandemic-relief fraud cases as a priority. That's encouraging, since prosecutors are often as soft on white-collar, financial crimes as they are corruption. A street urchin caught stealing a TV gets the book thrown at him while a hospital exec caught stealing millions of tax dollars gets a deal. And maybe elected governor. Kehoe told the Times: 'White-collar fraud is extremely important because, frankly, it damages the fabric of society …' Amen. But Kehoe may face some serious pressure on the Amesty case, since the former GOP legislator hired Brad Bondi — the brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi — as her attorney. And Pam Bondi is the one who gave Kehoe his new job. In fact, the Justice Department announced that the Middle District's former prosecutor — Roger Handberg, who oversaw the cases against both Amesty and Greenberg — was out of his job the same day Amesty appeared in court. Former Rep. Amesty retains well-connected lawyer: Trump AG-pick Pam Bondi's brother Now, I'd like to believe that Pam Bondi will follow every ethical letter of the law. But I'd also like to believe that my abs will get ripped by eating bacon burgers and buffalo wings. Bondi's track record as Florida's AG was well-documented. Most notably, she was caught cashing a $25,000 campaign check from Donald Trump's foundation just three days after her office said it was reviewing complaints from Floridians who said they'd been fleeced by a Trump money-making venture. No prosecutor who even cared about the appearance of impropriety would accept money from someone they'd been asked to probe. Kehoe says he and Bondi are old friends, which is how he got the job. I had a front-row seat to Pam Bondi's messy stint as attorney general | Commentary Kehoe, 70, is a former federal and international prosecutor who went after everyone from outlaw bikers to war criminals. He's also a former defense attorney, who defended everyone from corrupt politicians to accused war criminals. One of his former clients was a Croatian general who was convicted of crimes against humanity but then had those convictions overturned on appeal. Another was former Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown who was convicted on 18 fraud charges before those charges were overturned and she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. I don't know the Croatian war general. But I read every word of the lengthy federal case against Corrine Brown, and her actions stunk. Maxwell: Corrine Brown delivered … to herself, feds say You can't always judge attorneys by their clients. And Kehoe claims to want this new job prosecuting crimes across the Middle District that covers 35 counties from Northeast to Southwest Florida because he believes in 'the greater good.' Well, a big part of that is going after the bad guys, even when they're wealthy, powerful or politically connected. Sometimes there are jurisdictional issues. State crimes should obviously be pursued by state officials while federal ones should be pursued by federal ones. But sometimes, it's just a matter of which prosecutor cares. And too often in Florida, no prosecutors have. And there's plenty of shady behavior at state and local agencies where federal money is involved. The Hope Florida scandal involves Medicaid money, for instance. And a new scandal seems to pop up at Orlando's federally funded airport every few years. Readers often ask why Florida seems to have a disproportionate number of politicians doing shady things. And I usually respond: Partly because there aren't many prosecutors in this state who do much to stop it. smaxwell@ Joel Greenberg's prosecutor gets a promotion. Great. Let's prosecute some more | Commentary
USA Today
6 days ago
- USA Today
'Nobody's perfect': Billy Napier comments on Florida football CB's arrest in May
'Nobody's perfect': Billy Napier comments on Florida football CB's arrest in May Florida football head coach Billy Napier broke his silence Wednesday on the status of junior cornerback Dijon Johnson, who was arrested May 2 in Tampa on multiple charges, including two felonies. Speaking at the SEC's annual spring meetings, Napier confirmed Johnson remains with the Gators and is currently enrolled in summer classes while working out with the team. "We'll handle all the discipline internally," Napier said on Wednesday at the SEC Spring Meetings, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "We're gonna let things take their course. We started some of that process with (Johnson) in-house already. He's back in summer school and working with our team." Johnson, 21, was arrested by the Tampa Police Department late on May 2 and booked in Hillsborough County during the early hours of May 3. Johnson faces multiple charges, including possession of a controlled substance (third-degree felony), possession of a firearm during commission of a felony (second-degree felony), misdemeanor possession of cannabis under 20 grams and resisting an officer without violence (misdemeanor). He was released on an $8,500 bond the following day. The arrest affidavit, obtained by Swamp247, details that Johnson was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction and became argumentative with officers. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of marijuana and synthetic marijuana in a backpack containing his passport, as well as a loaded Glock 19 handgun. Despite initial claims that the substance was creatine from the football facility, field tests at the scene tested positive for illegal substances. Court records show Johnson filed written pleas of not guilty on all charges and waived his appearance at arraignment. Napier said he hopes the situation serves as a "teachable moment" for the entire team. "You represent your family, you represent your institution as a whole and then I think the program in general," Napier stated. "And that specific group of players as a team that we've worked hard to create. So over time, we're hopeful that a lot of these things that we talk about stick." Johnson appeared in all 13 games for Florida in 2024, making five starts and finishing with 27 total tackles, two pass breakups and two tackles for loss. He earned a starting role midway through the season and was a key part of the secondary despite battling an upper-body injury late in the year. Napier acknowledged that while mistakes happen, the program's culture and evaluation processes are designed to address such challenges. "But nobody's perfect, and they love football and I think that creates opportunities to teach a lot in terms of how to be someone that's respected, and to be accountable," Napier said. "... But in general, you've got to pick the right ones too, that's part of it. Recruiting, evaluating, it's all part of the program." Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
