Covering All Things Florida
According to website thesmokinggun.com, the Kentucky man who won a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot last year has reached a plea deal after prosecutors said he kicked a sheriff’s deputy in the face during a chaotic incident at a St. Pete resort where he went to celebrate his newfound wealth.
A disease that many of us remember from childhood — and thought we’d seen the last of — is making an unwelcome return to Florida. As of early February 2026, the state has confirmed at least 21 measles cases, a sharp jump from just 29 for all of 2025. The outbreaks are popping up from the Gulf Coast to North Florida, and health officials are urging residents to check that they and their families are up to date on vaccinations.
There’s a certain smugness that radiates from northerners when they see a Floridian shivering at 58 degrees. “That’s not cold,” they’ll say, wrapped in their smug little sweatsuits they brought “just in case,” while locals scramble for dusty space heaters purchased during the Great Freeze of 2010.
But here’s the thing about Florida weather those yankees don’t understand: Florida cold is a different cold. A sneakier cold. A meaner cold. A cold that has learned to adapt to its humid, subtropical environment and attack from angles that dry, honest northern cold would never dream of.
The Sunshine State handed over its most electrifying title in 2025, though Floridians still face the highest statewide risk
For decades, Florida wore the “Lightning Capital of America” crown like a badge of honor—or at least a very loud warning sign. That era ended in 2025 when Oklahoma, of all places, snatched the title away.
If you have a drawer full of random chargers, mystery cables, and a couple of old lithium-ion batteries you keep meaning to deal with, you’re not alone. Floridians are great at sunshine, seafood, and driving too slow in the left lane, but we’re not so great at battery disposal. Some people have paid dearly for not getting rid of their old batteries: a massive fire and a lost home. That’s not exaggerating, it happens, and more often than you might think.
A federal lawsuit filed this month is putting Florida’s Hillsborough County (Tampa) under scrutiny after a man dressed in a Confederate uniform was removed from a Veterans Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park.
It has been a big week for Blue Origin, first with the second launch of New Glenn, the successful landing of the first stage. As they were moving the first stage of last week’s New Glenn flight, the company casually made three major announcements today in one press release: a new, supersized New Glenn for megapayloads, ramping up the power output of its BE-4 and BE-3U engine used on the second stage of the current New Glenn, as well as the 9X4. It might be a while for the megarocket to be on the launch pad, but the engine advancements start arriving on the next New Glenn flight, NG-3.
A pool of unusually warm air is building high above the Arctic, and scientists say it could signal a shift in the winter forecast for the southern United States.
It was a sight few Floridians ever expect to see. Late Tuesday night and into the early hours of Wednesday, streaks of soft red and violet light rippled faintly across the northern horizon, visible from as far south as Central Florida. The northern lights — usually reserved for those in Alaska, Canada, or northern Europe — paid a rare visit to the Sunshine State.
Florida’s allure has always been its promise — warm weather, opportunity, and a better life under the sun. But a growing number of residents now say that promise is slipping away, as the cost of living climbs faster than paychecks and patience.
Flight 11 was the final launch of the Block 2 variant of Starship. That mission was promising, and both the Booster and Starship survived and splashed down successfully to their respective targets.
Following this mission, SpaceX won’t be launching Starship for a hot minute, taking some time to make some significant changes to both their facilities at Starbase and the launch vehicles.
