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News at noon: Pulse body camera footage released; celebrating Veterans Day; Mosaic suit could take a while; and what Archer and the Rays need from each other

 
The Florida Coalition for the Prevention of Gun Violence is a group of more than 100 local, state, and national organizations that formed days after the massacre at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, seen here, that left 49 people dead on June 12. A group of Pinellas members protested a Friends of the NRA banquet on Friday evening. [CHERIE DIEZ   |   Times]
The Florida Coalition for the Prevention of Gun Violence is a group of more than 100 local, state, and national organizations that formed days after the massacre at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, seen here, that left 49 people dead on June 12. A group of Pinellas members protested a Friends of the NRA banquet on Friday evening. [CHERIE DIEZ | Times]
Published Nov. 11, 2016

The Orange County Sheriff's Office has released hours of body camera footage from deputies who responded to the Pulse nightclub shooting. About two dozen videos released show law enforcement responding to the club June 12. Some show officers going inside where gunman Omar Mateen barricaded himself inside a bathroom while others offer details about what was happening outside.

DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH TRYING TO SUE MOSAIC OVER THE MASSIVE MULBERRY SINKHOLE; IT TAKES A WHILE

In September, a week after fertilizer giant Mosaic finally revealed to the public that a sinkhole at its Mulberry plant dropped 215 million gallons of contaminated water into the aquifer below, three of the plant's neighbors filed suit against the company. Meanwhile, St. Petersburg native Howard Curd, 69, is the lead plaintiff in another lawsuit against Mosaic that also involves a massive spill of polluted water. Curd and his fellow fishermen alleged in the lawsuit that the acidic water destroyed the marine habitat in Hillsborough Bay that their livelihoods depended on. They filed suit in 2004, and the case has still not gone to trial.

CELEBRATING VETERANS DAY ACROSS TAMPA BAY

[DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times ]

Vietnam veteran Vern English, of Palm Harbor, is shrouded in American flags being waved by Westlake Christian School students while attending the annual Veterans Day program on Friday at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor.

[DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times ]

Vietnam veteran Vern English, of Palm Harbor, is shrouded in American flags being waved by Westlake Christian School students while attending the annual Veterans Day program on Friday at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor.

Several Veterans Day ceremonies are being held across the Tampa Bay area, and even more are scheduled this weekend. Check out our events calendar for gatherings through the weekend.

WHAT CHRIS ARCHER WANTS FROM THE RAYS, AND WHAT THEY MUST HAVE FROM HIM

Martin Fennelly loved that Rays pitcher Chris Archer popped off about the Rays needing to spend more money to win, to both SiriusXM's MLB Network and Marc Topkin of the Times. This franchise is heading in the wrong direction, he writes, and this team needs an edge. But what they need from him is to not lose 19 games in 2017.

WHITE HOUSE RELEASES PHOTO OF MICHELLE OBAMA'S MEETING WITH MELANIA TRUMP

[White House photo]

Hours after the meeting between Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, the White House released this photo of the two women in the Yellow Oval Room.

[White House photo]

Hours after the meeting between Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, the White House released this photo of the two women in the Yellow Oval Room.

President-elect Donald Trump's meeting Thursday with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office was well-documented by many reporters and photographers. However, the meeting between first lady Michelle Obama and Melania Trump was kept under wraps. The White House released a photo hours later of Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Trump chatting in the Yellow Oval Room. The White House said Mrs. Obama gave Mrs. Trump a tour of her new living quarters while the two women spoke about "the unique demands of raising a family in the White House."

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MARCO RUBIO DID SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN TRUMP IN FLORIDA

Though they tried, Democrats never could pin Donald Trump onto U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, election results show. During the campaign, Democrats tried every chance they got to align Rubio with Trump on key issues hoping it would damage him, particularly with women and minority groups. It didn't work, the numbers show.

WHAT DOES A DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENCY MEAN FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY? DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK

[LOREN ELLIOTT | Times]

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks to a boisterous crowd at a rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 24. What will a Trump presidency mean for Hillsborough County, which he spent a lot of time in during the election?

[LOREN ELLIOTT | Times]

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks to a boisterous crowd at a rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 24. What will a Trump presidency mean for Hillsborough County, which he spent a lot of time in during the election?

President-elect Donald Trump will be a boon to Hillsborough County when he takes office in January. Or not. Hillsborough County's elected leaders have mixed opinions on what a Trump presidency will mean for the greater Tampa area — a part of Florida he frequented during the campaign — particularly as it relates to the millions of dollars the federal government doles out to the county each year.

MEET THE FLORIDA CONSULTANT WHO NAILED THE 'HIDDEN TRUMP VOTE' PREDICTION

A fairly small handful of pundits and politicos correctly predicted that Donald Trump would defy the polls and beat Hillary Clinton, but one Florida operative who did — and repeatedly said so publicly — was Tampa-based media consultant Adam Goodman. Times Political Editor Adam C. Smith breaks down how some of the other pundits thought the election would shake out.

DONALD TRUMP'S POTENTIAL SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE WANTS TRADE WITH CUBA

Sid Miller may not be known in national political circles, but he could be nominated as Donald Trump's Secretary of Agriculture. The sitting Texas Agriculture Commissioner, eighth generation farmer and fervent Trump supporter has an unconventional background. Miller counts National Rife Association board member and rocker Ted Nugent as his campaign treasurer and his Twitter account used a derogatory term for female genitalia to describe Hillary Clinton last week.

TAMPA BAY NEEDS TO STEP UP AS TRUMP FOLLOWS IN OBAMA'S FOOTSTEPS BY PREPPING INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE

Worried the troubled U.S. economy needed a serious kickstart, then-new U.S. president Barack Obama and his team decided on a bold and expensive fiscal stimulus plan in 2008 to invest quickly and heavily in the aging infrastructure of America. Now in these early days after this November election, it looks likely President Donald Trump in early 2017 will unveil a similar plan to revive a sagging national infrastructure and, with luck, rev the engine of America's gross national product, Robert Trigaux writes.

ET CULTURA HOPES TO BRING SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST FLAVOR TO ST. PETERSBURG

[LUIS SANTANA | Times]

The Hip Abduction will perform at the first ever Et Cultura festival in St. Pete.

[LUIS SANTANA | Times]

The Hip Abduction will perform at the first ever Et Cultura festival in St. Pete.

It's no accident that one of the keynote speakers at St. Petersburg's inaugural Et Cultura festival is a planning manager at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. Every hip city wants a South By Southwest of its own. Et Cultura, organizers believe, could one day fill that role for St. Pete. Here's what to expect at Et Cultura, which runs Wednesday through Friday in venues around downtown, with Green Bench serving as a hub.

THE AVETT BROTHERS COMING TO THE USF SUN DOME IN TAMPA

[File photo]

February just got a whole lot warmer, because the Avett Brothers are coming back to Tampa.

[File photo]

February just got a whole lot warmer, because the Avett Brothers are coming back to Tampa.

February just got a whole lot warmer, because the Avett Brothers are coming back to Tampa. The hit North Carolina Americana troupe is bringing their new tour to the USF Sun Dome in Tampa on Feb. 3, their first concert at the venue since 2014.

HEY BUS RIDERS: NEED A CAR RIDE HOME FROM USF AND CARROLLWOOD BUS STATIONS? THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

HART and an international transportation company are launching a new ridesharing, app-based service to complement the bus system on Monday. Like Uber or Lyft, bus riders will be able to use a free smartphone app to summon a driver who will take them up to three miles to or from major bus stations at USF or in Carrollwood. Unlike the online-only services, though, customers can pay cash and request a ride by making a phone call. The service, called HyperLINK, will cost passengers $3 per ride.