🏠 News From Your Neighborhood
Florida
Florida woman details home insurance woes on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Capitol Hill, a Florida woman speaks out about high home insurance costs. The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing Wednesday called “Riskier Business: How Climate is Already Challenging Insurance Markets.”
Deborah Wood told the committee she moved to South Florida in 1979, but sold her home last year largely because of the high cost to insure it.
“In 2017, we paid $3,700 per year for insurance, and in subsequent years the rates increased significantly, so that our proposed renewal for 2023 was more than $8,000,” she said.
Wood said she and her husband who are retired, sought to buy a home in Tallahassee near their daughter, but found the rates to be expensive there too, and have not decided on their “next step.”
“Flash forward to 2024. We have reluctantly made the decision that we will not be buying a home in Florida. We’ve learned there’s no escaping the insurance problems and weather disasters are becoming more and more prevalent, even in previously safe areas like Tallahassee,” Wood said.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, noted rates in Florida far exceed the national average.
“Ten percent of our nation’s homeowners live in Florida. Florida homeowners pay on average over $6,000 for insurance, the highest in the country. Indeed, more than three times the national average, which is $1,700. Florida’s average premium has doubled between 2020 and 2023,” Whitehouse said.
While Democrats blamed the crisis largely on climate change, Republicans and an economist with a conservative think tank blamed Democratic policies and inflation for the higher insurance rates felt nationally.
“This hearing ought to be called ‘Riskier Business: How Massive Deficit Spending, which Caused Inflation is Challenging the Insurance Markets,’” said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
“Your focus should be on reducing the government spending that created the inflation, which is responsible for most of the increase in insurance premiums over the last several years,” Heritage Foundation Research Fellow E.J. Antoni told the committee.
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
Leer en español
“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
Florida
Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”
Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.
Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.
This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.
Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.
The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.
In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”
The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.
In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”
The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion.
Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”
Florida
Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined $11.2M in 2026
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.
Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.
Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.
The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.
Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.
Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.
Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.
Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.
The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.
-
Missouri3 minutes agoBarry County man breaks Missouri state record with yellow bass catch
-
Montana10 minutes agoCounties accept enough signatures to put Bodnar, Eisenhauer on ballot; counts unofficial
-
Nebraska13 minutes agoNebraska Man Fractures Spine After Falling Off Big Boy Locomotive At Whistle-Stop
-
Nevada18 minutes agoNevada SPCA brings adoptable pet to spotlight on Furever Home Friday
-
New Hampshire25 minutes agoRFK Jr. visits NH to unveil new federal actions to fight Lyme disease
-
New Jersey28 minutes agoMercer County, N.J. enacts new policies to limit ICE arrest activity
-
New Mexico35 minutes agoVirgin Galactic partners with nonprofit for menstruation research in space
-
North Carolina43 minutes agoFamilies in Durham say they’re barely getting by; New report says Americans are saving less