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After years of delays, scaled-back plans underway for memorial to Florida nightclub massacre

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After years of delays, scaled-back plans underway for memorial to Florida nightclub massacre


ORLANDO, Fla. – Survivors and the families of victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre had hoped by now to have a permanent memorial in place for Wednesday’s eighth anniversary of the attack by a lone gunman who killed 49 people at the gay-friendly club in Orlando, Florida.

Instead, new, scaled-back plans are only now getting off the ground following a botched effort to build a multimillion-dollar memorial and museum by a private foundation that disbanded last year.

The city of Orlando purchased the nightclub property last year for $2 million, and it has since outlined more modest plans for a memorial. The original idea for a museum has been jettisoned and, last week, city leaders formed an advisory board to help determine what the memorial will look like.

“We’re very much hoping to find a number of family members to be a part of this committee, as well as survivors,” said Larry Schooler, a facilitator tasked with guiding the memorial effort. City officials said the goal is to have the memorial completed by 2028 at the site near downtown Orlando.

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Until last year, efforts to build a memorial had been moving ahead in fits and starts ever since the massacre.

On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire during a Latin night celebration, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. But it was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas. Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed after a three-hour standoff with police.

Barbara and Rosario Poma and businessman Michael Panaggio had previously owned the property, and Barbara Poma was the executive director of the onePulse Foundation — the nonprofit that had been leading efforts to build a memorial and museum. Barbara Poma stepped down as executive director in 2022 and then left the organization entirely last year amid conflict-of-interest criticism over her stated desire to sell instead of donate the Pulse property.

The original project unveiled in 2019 by the onePulse Foundation originally called for a museum and permanent memorial costing $45 million. However, that estimated price tag eventually soared to $100 million.

The scope of the project ended up stretching far beyond the fundraising abilities of the nonprofit, according to an investigation by the Orlando Sentinel.

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Deborah Bowie, who took the helm of the foundation in 2022, told the Sentinel that what she found when she arrived was a “house of cards waiting to crash down.”

“There’s a big disconnect between what the board thought was going on and what I saw boots on the ground when I got here,” Bowie said. “The budgets that I saw, I couldn’t find the financial justification for.”

Meanwhile, Pulse survivors and others have been waiting eight years for a permanent memorial.

“All of us are entitled to closure, and that’s never going to happen until this memorial is built,” Brett Rigas told the Sentinel.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Florida Gators Myles Graham has Season-Best Performance Against LSU

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Florida Gators Myles Graham has Season-Best Performance Against LSU


The Florida Gators have been plagued by the injury bug all season. It’s taken a few key players on both sides of the ball each week and left them trying to fill the void with others. 

However, they have tons of depth on this roster and it showed once again on Saturday. While the Gators were without starting linebacker Grayson Howard against LSU, true freshman Myles Graham made sure there was little drop-off in talent on the field. 

According to PFF, Graham was graded out as the best true freshman linebacker in the country in Week 12 against the Tigers with a PFF grade of 77.6. He accounted for seven tackles in this game and five of them were assisted while the other two were solo. His seven tackles were also his highest in a single game this season. 

Additionally, PFF gave him an 82.7 tackling grade in this contest, which is the highest he has received all season and also the highest of any Gator defender on Saturday. 

The young star in the making has been shining over these past few weeks as well, so it is no surprise seeing him perform like this. 

From the first week of the season against Miami to the Tennessee game near the middle of October, Graham only totaled five tackles and all of them were assisted. In the last four though, he has 17 tackles, (10 assists and seven solo) one tackle-for-loss and one sack. 

It is unclear yet as to when Howard will be back for the Gators. Like every week prior, we’ll have to wait for the availability report for that. But if his absence extends into this weekend, then the Gators will have a dependable replacement in Myles Graham. 

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Florida professor finds evidence that ancient Egyptians drank hallucinogenic cocktails

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Florida professor finds evidence that ancient Egyptians drank hallucinogenic cocktails


A professor at the University of South Florida (USF) analyzed a 2,000-year-old Egyptian mug and discovered that the ancient object once held a psychedelic concoction used in a magical ritual. 

The mug studied was an Egyptian Bes mug donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. The mug is one of few still in existence. 

Research into the rare mug began in 2021, USF professor Davide Tanasi told Fox News Digital via email. 

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These mugs displayed the head of Bes, according to the press release.

Many of Bes’ worshipers were ancient Egyptian newlyweds, according to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, as the god of fertility and childbirth.

Drinking vessels shaped into the likeness of Bes, an ancient Egyptian deity. (Tampa Museum of Art; Allard Pierson Museum/Amsterdam/Stephan van der Linden)

Tanasi and his team scraped a sample of tiny particles from inside the vase to analyze. 

The team originally thought the vessel would have contained an alcoholic beverage, but what they ended up finding was far different from their original theories.

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Advanced DNA and chemical analysis found the vase contained what Tanasi described as a “cocktail” of different components. 

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Included in the mix was an alcoholic base, Tanasi told Fox News Digital, with flavoring agents like honey and or royal jelly sesame seeds, pine nuts or oil from Mediterranean pine and licorice.

Also included in the mix were several different medicinal and psychotropic substances, including Syrian rue, blue water lily and cleome species, Tanasi said.

Tampa Museum of Art

The analyzed mug was donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. (Fabiola Santiago/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/File)

Human fluids including blood, breast milk and mucus were also part of the concoction, according to Tanasi. 

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The bodily fluids in particular served as a large indicator that the mix was used in ancient ritual practices, according to the research. 

“It was then a magical potion, meant to inebriate, satiate and induce hallucinations,” Tanasi said of the mixture. 

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle

This first-of-its-kind finding provides physical evidence that mirrors written records and myths about ancient Egyptian rituals. 

“At this point, we believe that the psychotropic substances found in it were used for ‘incubation rituals’ connected with the cult of Bes,” Tanasi told Fox News Digital. 

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Drinking vessel in the shape of a Bes head

A drinking vessel is shown in the shape of Bes’ head. (Tampa Museum of Art/Philip LaDeau)

“Incubation rituals are religious practices where people sleep in a sacred space to receive a dream from a deity that may provide healing or an oracle,” Tanasi said. 

“In [the] Greek cult of Asklepios, god of medicine, sick worshipers had to spend the night in the sanctuary and wait to be visited by the god curing them during their dreams. Those dreams were triggered by drugs (pharmaka) dispensed by the priests. So, our research confirms an earlier practice that has later comparisons in several other cultures.”

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The mug is now on display at the Tampa Museum of Art as part of its “Prelude: An Introduction to the Permanent Collection” exhibit.

As far as further research goes, Tanasi said he hopes similar analysis continues.

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“To prove that the concoction that we found was the base recipe for a standard beverage administered during the rituals in honor of Bes, we plan as [a] next step to hopefully carry out the same analyses done on the example from the Tampa Museum of Art on other examples of [the] Bes Mug, kept at the Allan Pierson Museum in Amsterdam,” he said.

These, he added, “were produced with the same mold used for the Tampa one, to assess whether there was one and only recipe for this magical potion for Bes.”



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Florida Lottery Powerball, Cash4Life, Fantasy 5 results for Nov. 18, 2024

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Florida Lottery Powerball, Cash4Life, Fantasy 5 results for Nov. 18, 2024


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The Florida Lottery offers several draw games for those hoping to win one of the available jackpots. Here’s a look at the winning numbers for games played on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024

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Winning Powerball numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

27-31-41-52-69, Powerball: 26, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

02-06-24-36-43, Powerball: 13

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

02-15-28-29-40, Cash Ball: 01

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

Midday: 09-10-14-17-19

Evening: 08-19-22-26-34

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

Morning: 09

Matinee: 04

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Afternoon: 08

Evening: 06

Late Night: 03

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

Midday: 5-2, FB: 3

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Evening: 6-7, FB: 5

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

Midday: 7-1-5, FB: 3

Evening: 5-7-9, FB: 5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Pick 4 numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

Midday: 2-8-5-7, FB: 3

Evening: 2-4-7-7, FB: 5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Nov. 18 drawing

Midday: 5-0-7-6-6, FB: 3

Evening: 9-1-8-2-9, FB: 5

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Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Where can you buy Florida Lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at any authorized retailer throughout Florida, including gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. To find a retailer near you, go to Find Florida Lottery Retailers.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

  • Prizes of $599 or less: Claim at any authorized Florida Lottery retailer or Florida Lottery district office.
  • Prizes for $600 to $1 million: Must be claimed in person at any Florida Lottery district office for games that do not offer an annual payment option.
  • Prizes greater than $1 million and all prizes with an annual payment option: Must be claimed at Florida Lottery headquarters, except Mega Millions and Powerball prizes, which can be claimed at any Florida Lottery district office.

You also can claim your winnings by mail if the prize is $250,000 or less. Mail your ticket to the Florida Lottery with the required documentation.

Florida law requires public disclosure of winners

If you’re a winner, Florida law mandates the following information is public record:

  • Full name
  • City of residence
  • Game won
  • Date won
  • Amount won
  • Name and location of the retailer where the winning ticket was purchased.

When are the Florida Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
  • Florida Lotto: 11:15 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Jackpot Triple Play: 11:15 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
  • Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
  • Fantasy 5: Daily at 1:05 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.
  • Cash Pop: Daily at 8:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m.
  • Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: Daily at 1:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Florida digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.

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