Lead Stories

The Two-Way
11:47 pm
Thu May 23, 2013

Bridge Collapses In Wash. State; People, Cars In Water

Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 12:59 am

The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River at Mount Vernon, Wash., collapsed Thursday, leaving an unknown number of people and vehicles in the water.

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Health News Florida
9:47 pm
Thu May 23, 2013

Left Out of Health Reform: Florida’s Poorest Uninsured

At 7 a.m. on a Monday morning, poor people who don’t qualify for government health programs such as Medicaid are lined up outside a health department building on a busy street in St. Petersburg.

Some lean against the wall; others sit on the ground, too sick to stand.

At 7:30, the doors will open and those who are waiting will rush – or limp – inside to take a number. Lucky ones will get to see a doctor. First-come, first-served.

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Off The Base
7:07 pm
Thu May 23, 2013

Update: Veterans BBQ a Go as New Sponsors Step Up

The hospitalized veterans at Tampa's James A. Haley VA, like many Americans on this Memorial Day, will be able to munch on burgers and hotdogs  at a good old-fashioned barbecue thanks to members of the Tampa law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP.

Upon learning that the Haley VA had to cancel the barbecue for about 150 veterans because their sponsor dropped out, the firm agreed to step up and cover the cost.

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Off The Base
4:26 pm
Thu May 23, 2013

Veterans BBQ Canceled without Sponsor

Credit foodsafety.ogv

Memorial Day is a time to remember military members who lost their lives while serving their country.

It’s also a three-day weekend at Tampa’s James A. Haley VA Hospital that staff try to make special for the hospitalized veterans who also sacrificed for their country.

Yet, Memorial Day for Haley veterans had to be scaled back this year.

For want of $500, the 150 veterans at the Haley VA Hospital will not have a Memorial Day barbecue according to Cathy Williams, head of recreational therapy.

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Environment
3:24 pm
Thu May 23, 2013

NOAA Predicts Active Hurricane Season

Credit Lucas Jackson / Reuters
Some of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Southampton, New York last October.

Hurricane season is quickly approaching, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) predicts an active season this year.


NOAA researchers say the six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which starts on June 1, has the potential to be very active. The agency's outlook says 13 to 20 tropical storms are likely.

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Environment
12:11 pm
Thu May 23, 2013

Wildlife Authorities Investigate Video of Man Jumping on Manatees

Credit Jim Reid / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The video shows a man jumping onto an adult manatee and its calf, similar to these animals.

Wildlife officials are investigating a video of a man doing a cannonball onto two manatees.

The disturbing footage was recently uploaded to Facebook and YouTube. On Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will lead a joint investigation of the incident with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Manatees are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. Violators face up to one year in prison and/or $100,000 in fines.

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11:19 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Attorney Says She Was Fired for Helping Quadriplegic

Lead in text: 
Legal aid lawyer Elizabeth Boyle says she was fired from Gulfcoast Legal Services because she refused to drop a case involving a quadriplegic who needs to find long-term care, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. Boyle had also filed an age discrimination complaint against the nonprofit’s new executive director, who Boyle says wrongly ousted volunteers, many of whom were retired.
Boyle, 54, says her firing stems from her refusal to drop a case involving a 29-year-old quadriplegic. "I was told I was being disciplined because I had opened a case after being told to reject it," Boyle said. "This young, single mom needed help. I would make the same decision again."
Business
10:29 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Powerball? America Already Hit the Jackpot

Credit iStock

Originally published on Wed May 22, 2013 4:30 pm

Finally today, I'm still thinking about that massive Powerball jackpot last weekend. That caused me to think about what's wrong with Powerball — the most important thing, of course, being the fact that I didn't win. You know you feel the same way. I'm sure I would have been a good winner. Like Oprah, I would use my powers for good and not evil. Like, I might buy a Bentley out of the showroom window, just to prove to myself that I could. But then I'd settle down and endow scholarships, and fix up blighted storefronts, and invest in local businesses.

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Law & Order
10:24 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Triple Murder May Link Tsarnaev And Man Killed In Florida

Credit / Reuters /Landov
Ibragim Todashev, in an undated booking photo provided by the Orange County (Fla.) Corrections Department.

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 4:18 pm

Ibragim Todashev, the 27-year-old man shot and killed after he allegedly attacked an FBI agent Wednesday in Orlando, may have been involved with Boston bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a 2011 triple murder.

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The Two-Way
10:08 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Funerals Begin In Tornado-Ravaged Moore, Okla.

Credit Katie Hayes Luke / Katie Hayes Luke for NPR
Players, coaches and parents collected donations Wednesday in Oklahoma city for the Angle Family, who lost their daughter Sydney, and their home, in the tornado. Sydney was No. 35 on a softball team called 'Bring It'.

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 12:44 pm

Funerals began Thursday for the 24 people known to have been killed by the tornado that devastated Moore, Okla., on Monday.

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