Florida news

Photo courtesy of Jason Leon, left, and Associated Press/University of Florida

Jason Leon, left, gathers up a massive Burmese python he killed while riding late at night in a rural area of southeast Miami-Dade County. The snake turned out to be 18 feet, 8 inches, the longest Burmese python ever captured in the wild in Florida. At right, unidentified staff from the University of Florida pose next to the creature, which university scientists found was 128 pounds and female, not carrying eggs at the time.

Record-setting python killed by knife-wielding Miami man

Say you're riding along late at night in rural southeast Miami-Dade County and you see a big python coming out of the brush. You (a) scream, swerve and punch the gas or (b) stop the car, grab the snake and start pulling. Meet Jason Leon of Miami, who answered (b) and wound up with the longest Burmese python ever ca …

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  1. Small Hudson blueberry farm yields big satisfaction

    Florida

    HUDSON

    Concealed, the thieves bide their time. They know Bob Waldo's habits, they recognize his daughter, Nina Lewis, as she moves along the tidy rows in a bikini top and faded cutoffs. As one, the cedar waxwings take flight, dive bombing and knocking ripe blueberries off dozens of bushes.

  2. Democrat Nan Rich says she's ready to take on Florida Gov. Rick Scott

    National

    SAFETY HARBOR — For 10 years, political pros have taken it almost as gospel that the strongest statewide Democratic candidates are centrists from Florida's top battleground region of Tampa Bay.

  3. Universal Orlando raises one-day theme park admission to $92

    Florida

    The cost of a one-day, one-park ticket to Universal Orlando has gone up three bucks to $92, plus tax. The increase made over the weekend makes Universal the first Orlando theme park to top the $90 threshold. Tickets for children ages 3 to 9 jumped to $86, plus tax. This is the second year in a row that Universal has …

  4. Florida Gov. Rick Scott signs budget, vetoes $368 million in spending

    Gubernatorial

    TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott signed a record-sized $74.1 billion budget Monday, but not before trimming off hundreds of millions of dollars in local projects and proposed tuition increases.

  5. Gov. Rick Scott speeding up Florida inmate execution process

    Criminal

    TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott has accelerated the pace of signing death warrants in Florida by lining up three executions over the next few weeks, the most in such a brief period of time in more than two decades.

  6. Sen. Marco Rubio, in Tampa, says controversies have 'shaken' him

    State Roundup

    TAMPA — Sen. Marco Rubio's efforts to reform immigration may be drawing skepticism from many conservatives. But scandals facing the White House have allowed him to shift his message back to the one that made him a star in the first place: The threat to America posed by excessive government.

  7. Cutoff date in immigration bill would leave many in shadows

    National

    WASHINGTON — Huber David Hernandez got a surprising phone call from a friend a few months ago. Congress is working on immigration reform, she said, and it would benefit both of us.

  8. If Florida wants more Hertz headquarters, buy more CEOs waterfront condos

    Economic Development

    Forget those pricey state economic incentives used like catnip to persuade companies to expand to Florida.

  9. Citizens downplays cheaper property insurance option

    Banking

    TALLAHASSEE — Last year, the Florida Legislature mandated Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to offer a cheaper, more limited coverage option to homeowners, potentially saving them up to 70 percent on their premiums.

  10. Gov. Rick Scott asks university presidents for promise not to seek tuition increases

    College

    TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott has all but guaranteed a veto of the 3 percent tuition increase in the state budget and he recently reached out to an unlikely group to aid his cause.