Florida
Florida family makes cross-county journey to save dog bitten by rattlesnake
Race to save dog bitten by rattlesnake
A dog is recovering after being bitten by a rattlesnake in Osceola County.
MELBOURNE, Fla. – A family made a cross-county trek in central Florida to save their dog that was bitten by a rattlesnake.
Thankfully, the pup, Abby, survived and is back home with her family a week after the attack on June 9. After the terrifying ordeal, her family is speaking out to spread awareness and advise pet owners if they find themselves in a similar situation.
The attack happened in St. Cloud, but they had to drive more than an hour to Melbourne because not every vet has anti-venom on hand. The emergency vet, Animal Specialty and Emergency Center, on Eau Gallie, was open and had treatment ready.
“I let the dogs out, and within five minutes, all of them were barking,” said Sayre, who has six other dogs, including Abby.
They all spotted the snake, but Sayer didn’t know any of them had been attacked immediately.
After spotting the snake by their family’s cabin in St. Cloud, the family quickly noticed Abby wasn’t acting like herself.
“She was just pouring drool, and she’ll drool but not that much,” she said.
She was bitten in her ear, and quickly, her face started to swell. The entire family and friends jumped into action, calling frantically to find a vet who could help save Abby’s life.
“I was just trying to keep her awake because she kept dozing off. I kept her calm, but I just wanted her to stay awake,” said Abby’s mother.
The closest open vet they could find that had anti-venom on hand was more than an hour away, in Melbourne. Abby was bitten around 7 a.m., and they didn’t make it to the vet until 9 a.m. on June 9.
“It can be fatal, and it can be fatal pretty quickly,” said Dr. Marissa Rutt, an emergency veterinarian at the Animal Specialty & Emergency Center of Brevard.
Rutt was the first to see Abby. They quickly gave her anti-venom, but she didn’t improve right away.
“She needed multiple, multiple vials of treatment,” said the doctor.
Her family was there holding her paw and getting ready to say goodbye.
“We don’t know if she’s going to make it,” said Sayre. “We thought this might be the last time.”
Finally, after the seventh vial of anti-venom, Abby turned a corner and started to get better.
“It literally binds to the venom in their blood and helps to remove it from their system,” said Rutt.
Abby spent a day at the emergency vet and the treatment cost around $6,000. A week later, Abby still has some swelling around her neck, but at least she’s alive.
“If anybody knows us at all, it’s that we love our pets more than people, and they’re our family,” said Sayre.
Rattlesnake bites are more common during the summer. Dr. Rutt says no over-the-counter medicine can help stop the spread. Minutes matter when a rattlesnake strikes and venom starts to take over.
“Have a plan. Don’t ever think that can’t happen to you, or I live in the city; this can’t happen because it can,” she said. “It can happen anywhere.”
Having a plan means having an emergency vet in your phone contact who is ready to go and has anti-venom on hand. Look into that before you’re in a crisis! Also, every case is different, but Dr. Rutt says one hour from when the snake bites to when you make it to the vet gives your pet the best chance of survival.
Abby’s family has started a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses for this unexpected emergency. You can access the site HERE.
Florida
Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’
It only took three weeks for a group chat for conservative students at Florida International University (FIU) to become a place where participants eagerly used racist slurs, prompting widespread condemnation from community leaders.
Abel Alexander Carvajal, secretary of Miami-Dade county’s Republican party and a student at FIU’s College of Law, reportedly started the chat after the killing of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, in September 2025.
But on Wednesday, the Miami Herald published leaked WhatsApp conversations in which the college Republicans made racist, sexist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, including variations of the N-word used more than 400 times. Knowledge of the chat’s existence was revealed on the same day that Republican lawmakers in Florida pushed forward a bill to rename a one-mile stretch of road alongside FIU in honor of Kirk.
William Bejerano, who the Herald noted once tried to start an anti-abortion group at Miami Dade College, was the most prolific user of the N-word. Using the slur, Bejerano called for dozens of acts of extreme violence against Black people, including crucifying, beheading and dissecting.
Dariel Gonzalez, then the College Republicans’ recruitment chair, who has recently applied to become a GOP committee member, responded to the calls for violence by saying: “How edgy.” He repeatedly used “colored” to describe Black people, including writing: “Ew you had colored professors?!” and “Avoid the coloreds like the plague,” according to the Herald.
Carvajal, who was appointed to a two-year role on the city of Hialeah’s planning and zoning board earlier this year, confirmed to the paper that the group chat was his doing, but he denied knowledge of the problematic comments until the publication contacted him about its logs last week.
“It’s been five months since this was sent and this is the first time I’ve seen this message,” Carvajal told the Herald.
“I guess to an extent, I bear some responsibility, cause I created a chat. But if I had seen this at the moment, I would have removed [Bejerano] from the chat. I probably would have even blocked his number.”
The Herald found that Carvajal had deleted 14 messages sent by other participants in the chat and 42 of his own messages before the publication obtained the chat’s logs.
He also participated in some of the racist discussions. While referring to a Black student who allegedly left FIU’s College Republicans after a member of the group “called her a [N-word]”, the Floridian reported that Carvajal wrote: “Why didn’t miggress leave?” Elsewhere in the chat, the publication reported that Carvajal used “Miggress”, “Migglet” and “Migger” to refer to Black women, Black children and Black people, in general.
At one point, Gonzalez wrote: “You can fuck all the [K-word, a slur for Jewish people] you want. Just don’t marry them and procreate.”
Ian Valdes, the Turning Point USA FIU chapter president, responded, “I would def not marry a Jew,” before changing the group chat’s name from “Uber [R-word slur for disabled people] Yapping” to “Gooning in Agartha”. “Gooning” is a gen-Z slang term for male masturbation, while “Agartha” is a mythical white civilization promoted by Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful leaders in Nazi Germany next to Hitler.
Gonzalez reportedly described Agartha to the group chat as “Nazi heaven sort of”.
Kevin Cooper, the first Jewish chair of the Miami Dade Republican party, condemned the group chat in a statement published to X and called for Carvajal’s resignation.
“The majority of our board voted to request Carvajal’s resignation. We have commenced removal proceedings and look forward to resolution from the Republican Party of Florida,” he wrote.
That call was echoed by Juan Porras, a Republican state representative and Miami-Dade GOP state committee member, who said in a statement: “Leadership carries responsibility. When someone in a leadership role engages in this kind of behavior, it damages the trust placed in our party by voters across Florida. For that reason, I am asking the Miami Dade Republican party secretary to step down from this position.”
In a joint statement, Florida Republican state senators Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia and Ana Maria Rodriguez denounced the chats and called for the expulsion from party leadership of its participants.
“The individuals in the group chat have exposed how profoundly misaligned their beliefs are to the views of the Republican party of Florida,” their statement said. “We call for the immediate expulsion of the individuals disseminating from any level of leadership of the Miami-Dade Republican Party … We will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination.”
Multiple leaked group chats from young Republicans have created controversy in recent years.
Last year, Politico published messages from a group chat of more than 100 conservatives across the country in which users also made racist and antisemitic comments. In 2022, a Young Republican group chat from North Dakota was revealed as a cesspool of homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric.
Florida
Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'
Florida
Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip
Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.
“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.
“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.
Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”
The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.
“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”
That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin4 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling