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Florida
Owner of stranded sailboat on Florida beach says a deal in the works to surrender boat
Owner of stranded boat says deal to surrender boat in the works
The owner of a stranded sailboat sitting on New Smyrna Beach said he is working out an agreement with county officials to surrender the vessel.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – The owner of a stranded sailboat sitting on New Smyrna Beach said he is working out an agreement with county officials to surrender the vessel.
The beached 1977 Ericson34 named “DECOY” has been beached since December 22. It belongs to Allan Askar. Askar told FOX 35’s Hannah Mackenzie he has lived aboard DECOY for the last three years.
According to Askar, he was sailing from St. Thomas to Viera Beach when rough weather snapped his anchor line and pushed him ashore. Askar said it wasn’t just the weather that landed him in a precarious position. He said his maps didn’t align with current coastal conditions, something he blames on Hurricane Milton.
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) deemed the sailboat derelict, giving Askar 21 days to remove it – he’s now down to 10.
Per FWC, derelict vessel owners can face civil and criminal penalties, including jail time.
To avoid that, Askar said he is hashing out an agreement with Volusia County. He said county officials reached out to him, and worked out a way to have him surrender the sailboat.
“Basically, it’s surrendering any interests, any of my interests in the boat. So whatever possessions I have in the boat, all the things, everything will belong immediately to the county,” Askar said.
That includes the cost of removing it, which could then fall on taxpayers.
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“I’m disgusted! Sorry, that’s a little bit overboard… I’m not happy about it,” said Volusia County resident Drew Hurley.
Askar said he takes full responsibility.
“I’m always thinking, whatever you’ve done, you have to be responsible,” Askar said. “Obviously, I tried finding all different options, and if right now, I will not find money, and I would like still to continue that, most likely the only outcome would be if I don’t find money: jail time, which to me, looks like again taxpayers would pay for me to be in jail.”
According to FWC, they are collaborating with local municipalities in this case, and FWC has not begun a removal process. A statement reads, in part, “if the vessel is being removed, it is either being done by the local municipalities or the vessel’s registered owner.”
Askar said the deal between him and the county will be finalized on January 3, with DECOY’s demise taking place shortly after.
“They already have something planned, so it’s probably going to be a quick process of removal,” Askar said.
A county spokesperson declined to comment, stating the case is actively being investigated by FWC.
This is Askar’s second vessel to run aground. He said his catamaran, named Tikinova, was beached in the Dominican Republic during Hurricane Fiona.
“We got winds up to 100 miles an hour and, within six hours, it changed all 360-direction, so it was very unusual,” Askar said.
According to Askar, he is still working to fix the catamaran and plans to head back to the Dominican Republic soon.
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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Allan Askar.
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.
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“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.
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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.
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