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Florida nurse accused of poisoning neighbor’s cats, pregnant dog

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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.

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“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.

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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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Central Florida students receive free prom attire from nonprofit

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Central Florida students receive free prom attire from nonprofit


ASSIGNED BY FLORIDA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL, CENTRAL FLORIDA STUDENTS ARE GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DANCE. IT IS PROM SEASON, AND MOST FAMILIES WILL SPEND HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS PER STUDENT. BY THE TIME YOU ADD UP THE TICKETS, THE TRANSPORTATION, AND EVEN DRESSES AND TUXES. WESH TWO GAIL PASCHALL-BROWN IS LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM THIS EVENING. GAIL YOU FOUND AN ORGANIZATION THAT’S HELPING STUDENTS WITH SOME FREE STUFF? YES, BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS SO EXPENSIVE. I MEAN, THE AVERAGE PROM DRESS CAN RUN ANYWHERE FROM 150 TO $300. WHAT ABOUT TAXES? IF YOU’RE RENTING THEM 200 OR MORE. SO 26 HEALTH IS TRYING TO MAKE PROM FUN. NOT FRUSTRATING BY OFFERING FREE ATTIRE AND ACCESSORIES. ONE YEAR. JOANNE LARCOMBE IS A MOMMY ON A MISSION. SHE’S TRYING TO FIND THAT SPECIAL PROM ATTIRE FOR HER SON AND DAUGHTER AT PROM ON MAGNOLIA AVENUE IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO. IT’S FREE PROM DRESSES AND SUITS BY 26. HEALTH 26. HEALTH IS A NONPROFIT HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES SERVICES TO ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT. SUPPORTERS SAY PROM SHOULD BE A CELEBRATION, NOT A FINANCIAL BURDEN. PROM IS SO EXPENSIVE IT’S $111 FOR A TICKET FOR PROM. IMAGINE BUYING A COUPLE $100 SHOE. OR, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR KID LOOKS SNAZZY. THEY DON’T WANT TO GO WITHOUT LOOKING LIKE A NICE SUIT. SO IT’S SUCH A BLESSING. I’M SO GRATEFUL FOR IT. SHE FOUND THIS PROM DRESS FOR HER DAUGHTER, ELIZABETH. YOU’RE ON FIRE. SHE FACETIMED HER SON GEORGE TO MAKE SURE HIS SUIT WAS JUST WHAT HE WANTED. WITHOUT THIS, I DON’T THINK I WOULD HAVE HAD A PROM SUIT. OR AT LEAST A NICE ONE FOR OUR PROM. SO I’M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT MY MOM IS ABLE TO GET ME A SUIT AND THAT I’M ABLE TO GO WEAR SOMETHING NICE AT PROM. APRIL 11TH IS GEORGE’S PROM AT LAKE BUENA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL, AND SO IS DARIAN BEVAN’S PROM AT EVANS HIGH. ACTUALLY, IT’S CRAZY BECAUSE I WASN’T GOING TO GO TO PROM BECAUSE I COULDN’T AFFORD A SUIT. SO LIKE AN HOUR OR TWO, IT CAME IN MY EMAIL. I WAS LIKE, OH, MOM, I COULD GO. YOU JUST GOT TO BUY THE TICKET, I COULD GO, I WAS LIKE, YEAH, HE’S HAPPY. THAT’S GREAT BECAUSE THE TICKETS ARE EXPENSIVE, AREN’T THEY? YEAH. IT’S LIKE 132 A PERSON. WOW, ISN’T THIS BEAUTIFUL? SO HOW DID 26 HELP GET ALL OF THESE DRESSES AS WELL AS SUITS? WELL, A SOCIAL MEDIA REQUEST WENT OUT AND 26 HEALTH EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS PARTNERS DONATED 325 ITEMS FOR THIS EFFORT. WE BELIEVE IN GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. SO THIS WAS A BRAINCHILD OF OUR STAFF, OF OUR STAFF, AND THEY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE FUNDS TO PARTICIPATE IN PROM. AND THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF OTHERS, ALL THE STUDENTS WILL LOOK FABULOUS AT THEIR PROM. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. AND THEY WERE. THEY WERE SO PRETTY AND SO HANDSOME. THIS IS 26. FIRST TIME DOING THIS. AND THE CEO SAYS, OH MY GOODNESS, WH

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Central Florida students receive free prom attire from nonprofit

Updated: 10:49 PM EDT Apr 3, 2026

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Central Florida students are getting ready for prom season, and many families will spend hundreds of dollars per student on tickets, transportation, and attire.However, one organization is helping students with free prom attire and accessories.The average prom dress can cost $150 to $300, and tuxedo rentals can be as much as $200 or more, especially for designer options.26Health, a nonprofit health care organization, aims to make prom fun and not frustrating by offering free attire and accessories.Joanne LaComb is a mother on a mission, searching for special prom attire for her son and daughter at “Operation Prom” on Magnolia Avenue in Orlando.”You know prom suits are so expensive. It’s $111 for a ticket for a prom. Imagine buying a couple hundred suits, you want to make sure your kids look snazzy. They don’t want to go without looking like a nice suit. It’s such a blessing. I’m so grateful for it,” George LaComb, a student at Lake Buena Vista High School, said.She found a prom dress for her daughter, Elizabeth and FaceTimed her son George to ensure his suit was just what he wanted.”Without this, I don’t think I would have had a prom suit, or at least a nice one for our prom. So I’m really grateful that my mom was able to get me a suit and I’m able to go wear something nice to our prom,” LaComb said.April 11 is LaComb’s prom at Lake Buena Vista High School, and it is also Derrion Bivins’ prom at Evans High School.”Actually, it’s crazy, I wasn’t going to go to prom because I couldn’t afford a suit, so like an hour or two, it came in my email, ‘Oh, mom, I can go, you just got to buy the ticket.’ I can go. It’s like, yeah, we was happy,” Bivins said. “That’s great because the tickets are expensive. Yeah, it’s $130 per person.”A social media request went out, and 26Health employees and partners donated 325 items for this effort.”We believe in giving back to the community, so this was a brainchild of our staff, and they wanted to be able to do something for individuals who may not have had the funds to participate in prom,” Latrice Stewart, 26 Health president and CEO, said.Thanks to the generosity of others, all the students will look fabulous at their proms. This is 26Health’s first year doing this, and the CEO said it has been an incredible experience because giving back is what they do.

Central Florida students are getting ready for prom season, and many families will spend hundreds of dollars per student on tickets, transportation, and attire.

However, one organization is helping students with free prom attire and accessories.

Advertisement

The average prom dress can cost $150 to $300, and tuxedo rentals can be as much as $200 or more, especially for designer options.

26Health, a nonprofit health care organization, aims to make prom fun and not frustrating by offering free attire and accessories.

Joanne LaComb is a mother on a mission, searching for special prom attire for her son and daughter at “Operation Prom” on Magnolia Avenue in Orlando.

Advertisement

“You know prom suits are so expensive. It’s $111 for a ticket for a prom. Imagine buying a couple hundred suits, you want to make sure your kids look snazzy. They don’t want to go without looking like a nice suit. It’s such a blessing. I’m so grateful for it,” George LaComb, a student at Lake Buena Vista High School, said.

She found a prom dress for her daughter, Elizabeth and FaceTimed her son George to ensure his suit was just what he wanted.

“Without this, I don’t think I would have had a prom suit, or at least a nice one for our prom. So I’m really grateful that my mom was able to get me a suit and I’m able to go wear something nice to our prom,” LaComb said.

April 11 is LaComb’s prom at Lake Buena Vista High School, and it is also Derrion Bivins’ prom at Evans High School.

“Actually, it’s crazy, I wasn’t going to go to prom because I couldn’t afford a suit, so like an hour or two, it came in my email, ‘Oh, mom, I can go, you just got to buy the ticket.’ I can go. It’s like, yeah, we was happy,” Bivins said. “That’s great because the tickets are expensive. Yeah, it’s $130 per person.”

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A social media request went out, and 26Health employees and partners donated 325 items for this effort.

“We believe in giving back to the community, so this was a brainchild of our staff, and they wanted to be able to do something for individuals who may not have had the funds to participate in prom,” Latrice Stewart, 26 Health president and CEO, said.

Thanks to the generosity of others, all the students will look fabulous at their proms. This is 26Health’s first year doing this, and the CEO said it has been an incredible experience because giving back is what they do.

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Video shows Backstreet Boys star Brian Littrell in heated dispute at Florida home

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Video shows Backstreet Boys star Brian Littrell in heated dispute at Florida home


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More details are emerging on an alleged altercation between Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell and a Florida beachgoer.

The “I Want It That Way” singer, 51, reportedly called 911 following the incident on March 22, and later filed a complaint in Walton County, Florida, according to People and ABC 13.

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Though Littrell sought battery charges against a local man whom he said set up a beach chair on his private property and refused to leave, the prosecutor ultimately declined to pursue the case. Now, a video released by ABC 13 is shedding new light on the incident.

In the video, submitted as evidence, Littrell approached a man, identified by the outlet as Kyle Gallagher. Gallagher was sitting on the beach as Littrell videotaped Gallagher with his phone and came within a few inches of his face. The man pushed Littrell’s phone away, and the two began filming each other and hurling expletives.

The boy band member then turned the camera to his own face, laughing and said, “This is what I deal with, people like this,” to which the man responded, “You came and shoved your phone in my face, bro.” The dispute continued, with both men getting heated, and Littrell at one point saying, “You wanna be gay?”

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Gallagher argued that Littrell’s property is next to public beach access, while the singer responded, “I can’t wait till this gets out, bro.”

In statements to authorities, both men offered a different version of events, with Littrell characterizing Gallagher as violent and a disturbance to the peace, while Gallagher said he only batted away the singer’s phone out of reflex and being startled.

Walton County Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Josh Mitchell declined to pursue charges, citing both a lack of criminal intent and the video backing up Gallagher’s version of events, per ABC 13. USA TODAY has reached out to Mitchell’s office as well as the Walton County Sheriff.

In a statement sent to USA TODAY on Friday, April 3, Littrell’s lawyer alleged he is one of several people in the beachfront neighborhood who are frustrated by trespassers.

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“Mr. Littrell enjoys positive relationships with his neighbors. They share a common challenge: repeated trespassing by individuals who deliberately enter private property to provoke confrontation,” the singer’s attorney, Peter Ticktin, wrote in the statement. “These incidents have affected multiple homeowners in the area and predate Mr. Littrell’s purchase of his home.”

The statement continued: “A trespasser placed a personal beach chair on Mr. Littrell’s private property and refused to leave. When Mr. Littrell approached him calmly, the trespasser became aggressive and struck Mr. Littrell in the face without provocation. This was an act of battery against a homeowner attempting to protect his property.”

Ticktin pushed back on “the claim that Mr. Littrell used a homophobic slur,” calling it “false.”

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“The full video of the encounter shows unequivocally that no such language was used. Sexual orientation played no role in this incident, and any suggestion otherwise is knowingly false,” Ticktin said.

“Mr. Littrell and his family purchased what they saw as their dream home, only to discover an ongoing pattern of trespassing and harassment targeting private property owners along their and their neighbors’ stretch of beach. These actions are not about public access, public beaches exist on both sides of the neighborhood and remain open and uncrowded,” Ticktin continued. “Instead, certain individuals appear intent on challenging the very concept of private property rights.”



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Florida State baseball drops series opener to Virginia

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Florida State baseball drops series opener to Virginia


Florida State baseball its opportunities Thursday night, but strikeouts and one big inning sunk the Seminoles in their series opener with Virginia. The Cavaliers struck for four runs in the bottom of the fourth and held on from there for the 4-3 win.

The Seminoles were poised to strike in the top of the first after Brayden Down started the game with a hit by pitch. Noah Sheffield then reached by error, an error that placed the runners at second and third. Unfortunately, the next three Seminole batters — Hunter Carns, Kelvyn Paulino and Eli Putnam — all struck out. Wes Mendes sat down Virginia 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first.

Both offenses were relatively quiet in the second and third innings with only two UVA baserunners. FSU picked up a two out double in the fourth from Putnam, but John Stuetzer fanned to end the threat. Mendes picked up a quick out to start the fourth before allowing three straight hits that scored two Cavalier runs. Mendes finally recorded out number two but followed that up by allowing a two-run no-doubter over the right field fence.

The Seminoles struck right back in the top of the fifth, started by a Stuetzer single. Dowd reached by error and Noah Sheffield made the game 4-1 with an RBI double. Carns followed that up with a two-run RBI single. Paulino grounded out to end the inning with FSU down 4-3.

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Mendes finished the fifth with a final line of 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Chris Knier took the mound in the sixth and kept Virginia off the board for the remainder of the game.

From the top of the sixth inning forward, Seminole batters went 0-12 with four strikeouts. As a whole, the FSU offense fanned 11 times for the game. The loss of Myles Bailey looms large as the offense will need to bounce back tomorrow at 2 p.m. in game two to avoid the team’s first series loss in conference play.



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