Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
STATE SUPREME COURTS TOSSES MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAPS
Caps placed on how much money people can receive in cases where a doctor’s mistakes led to a patient’s death were declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday. The lawsuit limits were part of a law then-Republican Gov. Jeb Bush pushed in 2003 in an effort to lower the cost of malpractice insurance rates and to keep doctors from moving out of state.
FORMER FLORIDA GOV. REUBIN ASKEW DIES
Former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew died early Thursday. He was 85. His family issued a statement Wednesday saying that he was admitted to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare on Saturday. Over the past three months, he has suffered from aspiration pneumonia, hip surgery and, most recently, a stroke. In 1970, Askew rose from obscurity in the Florida Legislature to become the Democrats’ surprise gubernatorial nominee, and beat the incumbent Republican, Claude Kirk.
RECORDS: MAN IN THEATER SHOOTING WAS ALSO TEXTING
A former police officer accused of killing a man in a movie theater during a dispute over texting had used his own phone to send a message to his son moments before the incident, according to documents released Thursday by Florida prosecutors. Curtis Reeves’ son, Matthew Reeves, told detectives that his father texted him at 1:04 p.m. Jan. 13, the documents show. Curtis Reeves told his son he was already seated inside the theater.
NILE CROC CAPTURED IN EVERGLADES
A deadly young Nile crocodile has been captured alive in Everglades National Park. The croc had eluded wildlife officials for years after they believe it escaped from a facility in Miami-Dade County along with two other crocodiles. The other crocs were captured in 2009 and 2012.
EX-BOLIVIAN POLICE OFFICIAL CONVICTED IN US CASE
A former high-ranking Bolivian National Police official has been convicted of U.S. charges that he tried to extort thousands of dollars from the former owner of a Bolivian airline. A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale convicted Mario Fabricio Ormachea Aliaga on Wednesday. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison at sentencing May 23. The trial lasted only three days.
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