Sen. Rick Scott continued his crusade against Kanye West’s upcoming Tampa concerts with a fiery press conference at the Florida Holocaust Museum on Monday morning.
Florida
Florida Cold Stuns Sea Turtles | Weather.com
This cold-stunned sea turtle is one of 100 brought to the University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab in St. Augustine, Florida, amid frigid weather from Jan. 22 to Jan. 26, 2025.
(UF Turtle Hospital via Facebook.)
- Cold-stunned sea turtles can become lethargic and unable to swim.
- It can happen when water temperatures drop into the low 50s.
- Dozens were rescued amid a winter storm and cold that hit Florida.
People weren’t the only ones feeling the chill during a recent winter storm that froze parts of the Sunshine State.
Dozens of cold-stunned sea turtles were rescued after temperatures plunged.
An ‘exhausting and relentless’ five days:
In one case, two officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, rushed to pull 30 turtles from the waters around Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle.
In another, the University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory received 100 patients from Jan. 22 through Jan. 26. The facility is located in St. Augustine, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
“Our hospital shifted into full emergency mode to triage cold-stunned green sea turtles,” a social media post from the lab read, calling the mission “exhausting and relentless.”
Each morning, FWC personnel arrived to take the turtles to other facilities in order to make room for more.
The lab noted the uptick in rescues was expected based on the weather forecast.
Cold water is dangerous for sea turtles:
Winter Storm Enzo brought frigid air into the Southeast, causing the northern Gulf Coast of Florida to reach lows well below freezing. When the water temperatures drop even as low as the 50s, sea turtles are susceptible to becoming “cold-stunned,” weather.com digital meteorologist Sara Tonks, who also holds a masters in marine science, said Wednesday.
When that happens, they can become lethargic and unable to swim.
“When a turtle becomes cold-stunned, the most important thing is to get the turtle out of the cold water as quickly as possible,” Tonks said. “Rescue teams have to act fast to get as many turtles into controlled environments so that they can be safely warmed back up.”
The turtles rescued following Winter Storm Enzo were taken to facilities where trained sea turtle veterinarians can take care of them until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild.
Winter Storm Enzo was historic for Florida:
The state’s all-time 24-hour snowfall record was shattered when more than 9 inches of snow was measured on Jan. 22 in the Florida Panhandle town of Milton. The previous record was 4 inches set in 1954 in the same area.
Beaches were covered in snow, as was Interstate 10, the main east-west corridor across North Florida.
Nearly half of the state’s 67 school districts were shut down for at least one day because of the storm. Some were closed for the entire week.
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Weather.com staff writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
Florida
South Florida shark diving operators push back against Florida Safe Seas Act: “There’s a huge double standard here”
Shark diving operators in South Florida are raising concerns that a bill currently moving through Congress could wipe out their industry.
The Florida Safe Seas Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month, is now headed to the Senate for consideration. If enacted, the legislation would prohibit the use of bait to attract sharks in federal waters off the Florida coast, though it would include an exception for shark fishing.
Supporters argue the bill will improve safety for swimmers, beachgoers, and anglers. Opponents, however, contend the measure would effectively dismantle the multimillion-dollar shark diving tourism industry in South Florida.
“This industry has created a natural guardianship for sharks; it is showing people that sharks are worth more alive than dead; it’s showing people the importance of sharks, really,” said Tanner Mansell, who operates Tanner Underwater Charters out of Jupiter.
Mansell argues that banning bait would leave operators with no viable alternative. “It would completely eliminate the industry because if we could go out there and swim with sharks without using bait, I would, I would be more than happy to do that,” he said.
He noted that his charters typically operate 3 to 4 miles offshore, well away from beachgoers, and argued that shark fishing from the beach presents a greater safety risk.
“So they’re taking the same chum that we use to attract sharks offshore, but you can put it on a hook and throw it at the beach and lure sharks in if you want to catch them right next to beachgoers, so there’s a huge double standard here,” Mansell said. He also disputed claims that dive charters are responsible for drawing sharks closer to shore, pointing to the high volume of recreational fishing boats in the area.
Conversely, the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust supports the legislation, citing the need to address shark depredation—a situation where sharks target hooked fish or fish being released back into the water.
“I think anything we can do to address the shark depredation issue is going to pay dividends in the long run,” said Kellie Ralston, the organization’s vice president for conservation and public policy.
Ralston highlighted research indicating that more than 40% of breeding permit fish, a key recreational fishery in the state, were being lost to sharks during the catch-and-release process. “I think couched in kind of this larger focus on shark depredation, I think we’re poised to see some really positive results out of this that’ll benefit our anglers, our boaters, our waters and our fisheries to be sustainable for the long term,” she added.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Clermont. A spokesperson for Webster’s office stated that the legislation mirrors existing Florida state law prohibiting shark feeding off the coast.
“The bill would extend these protections to federal waters, aligning with existing federal law surrounding Hawaii and Pacific territories,” the spokesperson said. “With the bill passing the U.S. House of Representatives on June 2, it now goes to the Senate for consideration.”
If you have breaking news, a tip, or an issue you think deserves investigation, contact our newsroom at 844-404-4954 (Broward) or 844-404-4305 (Miami-Dade). You can also email us at wfornews@cbs.com or visit our news tip page.
Joined by Holocaust survivors, Jewish leaders, fellow Sen. Ashley Moody, and former Republican governor turned Democratic St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Charlie Crist, Scott stood behind a lectern bearing the slogan “Don’t. Fund. Antisemitism.” He gestured to the boxcar on his right, which once transported humans to death camps during the Holocaust.
“Many suffocated in boxcars like these before they even made it,” Scott said. “It all started with questions like the one before us today: Are we going to tolerate this?”
Kanye West’s schedule in Florida
West, who now goes by Ye, has Raymond James Stadium concerts scheduled on June 26 and 28, prompting an outcry from the Tampa Jewish Federation and the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women. Last week, the Florida Holocaust Museum announced it would offer free admission that weekend.
On June 4, Scott wrote a scathing open letter to the Tampa Sports Authority, which operates Raymond James Stadium. He argued that taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to fund events for West, who sold swastika merchandise and posted a song titled “Heil Hitler” last year.
“People say, ‘Oh, it’s just a concert. Oh, the Tampa Bay Sports Authority is going to make some money, let people have their fun,’” he said. “Some of the worst sins in human history begin with the words, ‘I was just’: ‘I was just going to a concert with my friends,’ ‘I was just trying to make money,’ ‘I was just following orders.’ No, you can’t do that. None of us should be let off the hook for hatred and antisemitism.”
In a new statement following Monday’s press conference, the Tampa Sports Authority pushed back against Scott’s claims.
“We condemn antisemitism from any source. However, we also respect free speech rights guaranteed under the US Constitution, even when we disagree with that speech,” it said. “In addition, no taxpayer money is being used for staging the Ye concerts. To suggest otherwise is false.”
Ye has a long history of antisemitism
This spring, Ye published an apology for his antisemitism in the Wall Street Journal, attributing his behavior to his bipolar disorder and brain damage caused by a car accident. Despite this, his behavior prompted European officials to block him from entering the UK, effectively canceling some concerts there.
“Why is it that other countries can tell him no, and we don’t do that? We’ve accepted him,” said Toni Rinde, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who traveled from Clearwater to speak at the press conference. “Why? Why is this person being so hateful, trying to destroy people?”
Janet Hammer, a volunteer at the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast, spoke out against the concerts at last week’s Tampa City Council meeting and sent letters to her elected officials.
“There are people who have not been educated to understand what Nazis represent. He is glamorizing hatred,” she said. “We should have a ticket buyback program. Because to me, it’s not just the profit that’s going to be made. It’s how many individuals are going to be hearing this person, and who knows what the messaging is that he’s going to share?”
After the press conference, Hammer said she is still looking for ways to fight back against the concert.
“It’s like a done deal. That’s unacceptable in my eyes,” she said. “I left there asking, ’What more can I do?’”
🏆 Residential: The top home sale to hit records in South Florida was in Miami, where the 4,400-square-foot at 733 Belle Meade Boulevard changed hands for $9.2 million. The seller was an LLC tied to entrepreneur Andrew Sieja and his wife, philanthropist Jessica Sieja. The buyer was Joshua Keller. The waterfront property has five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. It last sold in 2021 for $8.3 million. It went on the market in January for $10 million. Miltiadis Kastanis with Compass had the listing, and Dan Hechtkopf, also with Compass, brought the buyer.
🏆 Commercial: The priciest commercial deal was in Hollywood, where the hotel known as the Rooftop Resort at 1215 North Ocean Drive sold for $6.9 million. Built in the 1970s, the property spans 16,500 square feet and has 34 rooms. The seller was an LLC tied to Pamela Riccio and the buyer was an LLC managed by Michael Delouya, Thierry Cohen and Daniel Benhamou. The Rotella Group had the listing.
📊 Residential: In Miami Beach, a 4,500-square-foot condo at 1011 West 48th Street sold for $8 million or roughly $1,800 per square foot. The seller was a company managed by Ansir Junaid, founder of the Junaid Group, which operates business across a range of industries from real estate to healthcare, and the buyer was an entity led by Robert Curran. The unit, which has four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms, previously sold in 2023 for $8.3 million. Its most recent asking price was $9.5 million. One Sotheby’s International Realty’s Chelsea Werner had the listing, and Ximetta Mires with Global Luxury Realty represented the buyer.
By the Numbers: Number of underwater homes in the US reached 2M
The number of underwater homes in the U.S. is rapidly growing.
For the first time since 2021, the number of homes where loan balances sit at least 25 percent higher than a property’s estimated market value passed the 2 million mark. The figure represents a 15 percent year-over-year increase, according to a new report from real estate analytics firm Attom.
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