Florida
Florida nurse accused of poisoning neighbor’s cats, pregnant dog
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida nurse is accused of poisoning two of her neighbor’s cats and a pregnant dog.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday that Tamesha Knighten, 51, was arrested and faces several counts of felony animal cruelty.
Deputies said the two cats, Luna and Pancake, were found choking, foaming at the mouth and “in obvious significant pain.” The cats died within hours of each other. Then, four hours later, a pregnant Chihuahua, Daisy, was found dead by her owners, according to sheriff’s officials.
Knighten’s neighbors told deputies she threatened to poison their pets if the animals came into her yard.
“On the day that the pets died, they noticed Knighten pacing in her yard along the shared fence line. She had also yelled at the victims’ children that day, who were outside playing ball,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.
The neighbors said they noticed the cat “acting strangely” in the yard and Knighten, who was also outside, said the cat must be choking on a frog, according to sheriff’s officials.
Deputies found a white Styrofoam bowl near Knighten’s air conditioning unit that had “a white meaty substance mixed with a dark colored material.” Knighten denied having those kinds of bowls until deputies found a pack of them in her pantry, a release shows.
The sheriff’s office said deputies reviewed video from Knighten’s yard and saw her holding the bowl while wearing a blue glove. When asked why she was wearing the glove, she said it was to pick up papers in the yard, which deputies did not find evidence from, the release said.
“They told her the bowl looked like it contained tuna, to which she replied, ‘It wasn’t tuna, it was chicken.’ When asked what the chicken had on it, she called it her ‘special seasoning’ and said she put the bowl of food outside to ‘feed animals in the area,’” the sheriff’s office said.
Lab results showed the pets consumed Phorate, a pesticide found in insecticides, according to officials, which would have caused the animals to suffer.
“This suspect, despite all evidence to the contrary, repeatedly denied killing her neighbor’s pets, even telling our detectives that she’s a nurse and had too much to lose. Well guess what? These people lost their beloved pets in a most horrific way, and she lost her freedom by going to jail,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in the release.
In addition to animal cruelty, Knighten faces one count of depositing poison in a public area.
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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.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM
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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.
Neptune ShopRite shoppers react to $1.1B Mega Millions jackpot winner
The jackpot is the fifth highest in the game’s nearly three-decade history, agency representatives said in a release.
Will a $2 Mega Millions ticket make you a millionaire this week? It made two lucky jackpot winners rich less than one month a part.
On Christmas Eve 2024, the jackpot hit $1 billion — the 12th time in history that a Mega Millions or Powerball lottery jackpot hit that milestone. Only once has a lottery jackpot surpassed $2 billion (see below). On Friday, Dec. 27, the jackpot shot up to $1.22 billion. The next day, the Florida Lottery reported one ticket in California matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball.
And less than a month later, a much smaller Mega Millions jackpot was claimed again, when a ticket in Arizona won the $113 million jackpot last Friday, Jan. 17.
The Mega Millions jackpot has rolled over twice since it was reset just over a week ago and now sits at $44 million (angel numbers!) for this Tuesday’s drawing.
Although no one claimed the jackpot, there was one big winner in last Friday’s Mega Millions drawing. A ticket purchased in Texas matched 5 plus the Megaplier for a $2 million prize.
The winning numbers for the Mega Millions lottery drawing on Tuesday, Jan. 28 were 8-12-43-52-62 and the Mega Ball was 18. Megaplier was 2x.
Mega Millions tickets start at $2 apiece. Below are some frequently asked questions about the game, when winning tickets expire in Florida (it differs state by state) and lottery odds. Good luck!
Latest Mega Millions winning numbers
Mega Millions lottery drawings are at 11 p.m. EST on Tuesdays and Fridays. The winning numbers for the Mega Millions lottery drawing on Tuesday, Jan. 28 were 8-12-43-52-62 and the Mega Ball was 18. Megaplier was 2x.
In case you’re wondering, the winning numbers for the drawing on Friday, Jan. 24 were 8-12-43-52-62 and the Mega Ball was 18. Megaplier was 2x.
What day is the next Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings are at 11 p.m. EST on Tuesdays and Fridays. The next Mega Millions lottery drawing will be at 11 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
When was Mega Millions last won? How long the jackpot has rolled over
After less than a month of rolling over, the $113 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot was won on Friday, Jan. 17, when a ticket in Arizona matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball.
Below is a recap of lottery drawings for the latest streak.
How long do you have to cash in a Florida Lottery ticket?
Prizes for Florida Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. To claim a single-payment cash option, a winner has within the first 60 days after the applicable draw date to claim it.
How likely is it to win the Mega Millions?
The odds of winning are pretty low. According to the Mega Millions site, players have a 1 in 302,575,350 chance to match all five white balls plus the gold Mega Ball. Prizes range from $2 (for matching the Mega Ball) to the grand prize jackpot, which varies.
Does the Florida Lottery reveal lottery winners? Can you stay anonymous if you win lottery in Florida?
According to Florida Lottery’s website, winners cannot remain anonymous: “Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide records containing information such as the winner’s name, city of residence; game won, date won, and amount won to any third party who requests the information.”
However, the site states, the “names of lottery winners claiming prizes of $250,000 or greater will be temporarily exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed, unless otherwise waived by the winner.”
Lottery experts and lawyers have said there are ways to remain anonymous if you win.
What are the highest Mega Millions jackpots of all time?
As of Jan. 28, 2025, these are the largest Mega Millions prizes in the history of the game, according to megamillions.com.
- The largest Mega Millions jackpot won on a single ticket was for $1.58 billion for Aug. 8, 2023, drawing. Final sales pushed the grand prize to $1.602 billion. The winning ticket was sold at a Neptune Beach, Florida, Publix. Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida, claimed the prize.
- The second-largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018.
- $1.348 billion won in Maine on Jan. 13, 2023
- $1.337 billion won in Illinois on July 29, 2022
- $1.22 billion won in California on Dec. 27, 2024
- $1.128 billion won in Neptune, New Jersey, on March 26, 2024
- $1.050 billion won in Michigan on Jan. 22, 2021
- $800 million won in Texas on Sept. 10, 2024
- $552 million won in Illinois on June 4, 2024
- $543 million won in California on July 24, 2018
What are the 10 largest U.S. lottery jackpots ever won?
As of Jan. 28, 2025, there have been 12 lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed $1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed $2 billion. These are the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.
- $2.04 billion Powerball prize, Nov. 7, 2022, Edwin Castro of Altadena, California
- $1.73 billion Powerball prize, Oct. 11, 2023, Theodorus Struyck of California (ticket purchased at Midway Market in California)
- $1.586 billion Powerball prize, Jan. 13, 2016, Marvin and Mae Acosta of California, Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt of Melbourne Beach, Florida, and John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee
- $1.58 billion Mega Millions prize, Aug. 8, 2023, Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida
- $1.537 billion Mega Millions prize, Oct. 23, 2018, won by an anonymous player in South Carolina
- $1.348 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 13, 2023, LaKoma Island Investments, LLC, with the ticket purchased in Lebanon, Maine
- $1.337 billion Mega Millions prize, July 29, 2022, won by an anonymous partnership with a ticket purchased in Des Plaines, Illinois
- $1.326 billion Powerball prize, April 6, 2024, Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon
- $1.22 billion Mega Millions, Dec. 27, winner TBD from California
- $1.128 billion Mega Millions prize, March 26, 2024, won by an anonymous winner in New Jersey with the ticket purchased at ShopRite Liquor No. 781 in Neptune Township, New Jersey
- $1.08 billion Powerball prize, July 19, 2023, Yanira Alvarez of California
- $1.050 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 22, 2021, won by the Wolverine FLL Club of Oakland County, Michigan
(This story will be updated.)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has upgraded a recall over smoked salmon sold at Costco locations in Florida.
It could be contaminated with listeria, according to the department.
The recall for Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon was first issued in October 2024 for possible contamination.
The upgrade is now Class 1, and the FDA’s website says the use of a recalled product in that category “will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The product hasn’t been available for months, but customers who bought it previously and put it in their freezer are urged to not use it.
No illnesses have been reported.
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