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Florida
Storms slam parts of Florida. Tampa Bay likely to stay hot and dry.
Powerful storms with damaging high winds threatened several states in the Southeast early Friday, as residents elsewhere in the U.S. cleared debris from deadly severe weather that produced twisters in Michigan, Tennessee and other states.
Storms rolled into Tallahassee, where numerous trees were toppled around the state’s capital city, authorities said Friday. Wind gusts of 71 mph were recorded by a weather station near the State Capitol Complex, the National Weather Service reported. Florida State University announced its campuses in Tallahassee were closed Friday due to the severe weather. Nonessential personnel, students and visitors should avoid campuses in Tallahassee until further notice, the school said in a social media post.
The city of Tallahassee said on the X social medial platform that “possible tornadic activity” caused the widespread damage in the Florida capital, especially to electric lines and numerous downed trees. The city said more than 66,000 customers are without electric service and 11 substations were damaged by the storm.
“Restoration will possibly take through the weekend,” the announcement said.
Strong thunderstorms also were expected in Alabama near the Florida panhandle, where gusty winds could knock down tree limbs, the weather service said.
The severe weather is not likely to make it to the Tampa Bay area, where temperatures are starting to feel summer-like. Highs on Friday were expected to reach around 90 on Friday afternoon and rain chances were only at 20%, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.
Weekend weather should be similarly hot with with the chance of rain slim to none. However, rain chances increase to 30% on Monday and 50% on Tuesday, according to the forecast.
Though Tampa Bay will likely be spared from severe weather, parts of the rest of the state and nation were coping with storm damage.
In Mississippi’s capital city of Jackson, authorities on Friday were asking residents to conserve water after a power outage at one of its major water treatment plants. JXN Water, the local water utility, said in a statement that customers can expect reduced water pressure as workers assess damages due to storms that rolled through the region overnight. The weather service said Hickory Hills and surrounding areas near the coast were likely to get severe weather Friday morning and that hail with the potential to damage vehicles was expected.
More than 320,000 homes and businesses across the South, from Mississippi to North Carolina, were without electricity Friday morning, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us. More than half in Florida, where lights and air conditioning were out for more than 180,000 customers.
Several tornado warnings and watches were issued by the National Weather Service on Friday morning, but were lifted by midday as the threat shifted to damaging high winds. Since Monday, 39 states have been under threat of severe weather and at least four people have died. On Wednesday and Thursday, about 220 million people were under some sort of severe weather risk, said Matthew Elliott, a Storm Prediction Center forecaster.
The weather comes on the heels of a stormy April in which the U.S. had 300 confirmed tornadoes, the second-most on record for the month and the most since 2011.
A storm was blamed for killing a 22-year-old man in a car in Claiborne County, north of Knoxville, officials said. A second person was killed south of Nashville in Columbia, the seat of Maury County, where officials said a tornado with 140 mph winds damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said the woman who died in Maury County was in a mobile home that was thrown several feet into a wooded area. Lee visited emergency managers and Tennessee Department of Transportation officials in the storm-stricken area Thursday.
Torrential rains led to a flash flood emergency and water rescues northeast of Nashville, and the weather service issued a tornado emergency, its highest alert level, for nearby areas.
A 10-year-old boy was seriously injured in Christiana, southeast of Nashville, when he got caught in a storm drain and swept under streets while playing with other children as adults cleared debris, his father, Rutherford County Schools Superintendent Jimmy Sullivan, posted on social media.
The boy, Asher, emerged in a drainage ditch and survived after being given CPR, “but the damage is substantial,” Sullivan posted on Facebook, asking for prayers.
“Asher needs a miracle,” Sullivan wrote.
Dozens of people gathered at the school district’s offices for a prayer vigil Thursday. They bowed their heads and closed their eyes in prayer, and they sang “Amazing Grace” together.
Schools were closed Thursday and Friday in Rutherford and Maury. In Georgia, some districts north of Atlanta canceled in-person classes or delayed start times because of storm damage overnight that included fallen trees on houses and vehicles around Clarkesville. No injuries were reported there.
Both the Plains and Midwest have been hammered by tornadoes this spring.
Tampa Bay Times staff writer Chris Tisch contributed to this report.
Florida
Rabbi Eli Schlangar among 15 dead in Sydney attack; South Florida increases security at Jewish sites
AVENTURA, Fla. — A devastating terror attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, has left 15 dead, including Rabbi Eli Schlangar, a beloved figure in the Jewish community.
The attack unfolded during the annual Chanukah by the Sea event, a celebration where Rabbi Schlangar had served as one of the organizers and the emcee.
South Florida Rabbi Tzvi Dechter, who had known Schlangar for decades, spoke tearfully about the profound loss.
The two first met when they were teenagers, and their friendship grew over the years. Dechter recalled the personal qualities of his dear friend, not just his leadership in the Jewish community, but the kind and caring person he was.
“I loved him very much, obviously. A lot of people can describe his community leadership, but you forget about the person himself,” Dechter shared. “He was a husband, a father, and he was a friend to so many. He genuinely cared.”
Schlangar was deeply rooted in the Sydney Jewish community, particularly among the 5,000-member Russian-speaking Jewish population.
His impact reached far beyond his role as a religious leader, and he leaves behind several children, including a two-month-old baby.
Dechter revealed that the two had become “cousins” after marrying cousins, a bond that strengthened their connection.
The tragedy took an even more personal turn for Dechter, as he confirmed that Eli’s wife was among the dozens of people injured in the attack. The death toll is expected to rise, with as many as 40 people still hospitalized in critical condition.
The impact of the attack has rippled across the globe, with authorities increasing security measures in Jewish communities, particularly in South Florida.
Local officials have heightened patrols around synagogues and Jewish schools, with a Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) deputy assigned for security.
Authorities in Sydney continue to investigate the details of the attack, while local communities, both in Australia and abroad, mourn the loss of Schlangar and all the victims.
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
Florida
Florida high school football team pulls off miraculous touchdown to help win state championship
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A Florida high school state football championship finished with a phenomenal ending for one team and absolute heartbreak for the other on Saturday night.
Lake Mary High School was down six points with seven seconds left in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A title game against Vero Beach. Noah Grubbs dropped back to pass and rolled to his right. He gained momentum and fired the ball, which was tipped and caught short of the goal line.
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A Lake Mary quarterback looks to throw in the FHSAA Class 7A state championship, Dec. 13, 2025, at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. (Crystal Vander Weit/TCPALM/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
As Vero Beach defenders tried to keep receiver Barrett Schultz out of the end zone, Schultz’s teammate Tavarius Brundidge Jr. came around and took the ball out of Schultz’s hands. Brundidge ran the ball into the end zone to complete the wild and chaotic play.
The touchdown tied the game, and Lake Mary would kick the extra point to win, 28-27.
INDIANA’S FERNANDO MENDOZA WINS 2025 HEISMAN TROPHY
A Lake Mary player in the FHSAA Class 7A state championship, Dec. 13, 2025, makes a catch at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. (Crystal Vander Weit/TCPALM/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“I was just hoping and praying like everyone else that he was going to come down with the football and Barrett did,” Lake Mary head coach Scott Perry said, via TC Palm. “… We were just going to keep fighting and fighting until the final whistle.”
Vero Beach tried to run out the clock the best they could. The team decided to take a safety with 12 seconds left, and gave the ball back to Lake Mary.
A Vero Beach player is stunned after the FHSAA Class 7A state championship, Dec. 13, 2025, at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. (Crystal Vander Weit/TCPALM/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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It was the first state championship for Lake Mary in its history.
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Florida
Gisele Bündchen and Joaquim Valente enjoy Florida day date on jet skis
Gisele Bündchen and her boyfriend, Joaquim Valente, soaked up the sun during a jet skiing date in Florida.
The model and the MMA athlete appeared in good spirits while on the water near their home in Surfside on Saturday.
They both stayed close to each other and sported life vests.
Bündchen, 35, appeared to be wearing a white one-piece bathing suit underneath her vest.
She accessorized with sunglasses and styled her hair in a ponytail.
As for Valente, he sported black swim trunks.
The couple, who have been romantically linked since 2023, enjoyed some quality time together after welcoming a son together in February.
While Bündchen and Valente have shied away from revealing too much about their infant, they recently took him out on a boat ride in September.
At the time, the former Victoria’s Secret model was seen cradling her son while her beau took the wheel.
Valente then adorably held onto their 10-month-old, as Bündchen watched in awe.
The health guru also shared a rare glimpse of her son alongside her 16-year-old son, Benjamin, in October.
The teenager adorably held onto his little brother while playing the piano.
Bündchen shares Benjamin and her daughter Vivian, 13, with her ex-husband, Tom Brady.
The exes were wed from 2009 to 2022.
The former NFL star also shares an 18-year-old son, Jack, with his ex Bridget Moynahan.
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