Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
FIERY MULTICAR CRASH KILLS 5, INCLUDING 2 KIDS, IN FLORIDA
The crash happened Wednesday night when Pablo Cortes III lost control of a Volkswagen Golf, crossed a median and slammed head on into a Toyota Sienna minivan driven by Marianela Murillo, 39, and carrying four children, Florida Highway Patrol troopers wrote in an incident report. The minivan caught fire and Murillo and the two youngest children - John Bernal, 9, and Isabell Bernal, 10 - were killed.
FLORIDA WILDLIFE OFFICIALS: BE ON LOOKOUT FOR PASCO MONKEY
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says they’ve received reports of a rhesus macaque in the area of Hudson Beach this week. Rhesus macaques are not native to Florida and officials aren’t sure how it got there. But they don’t want it there much longer. Wildlife officials snapped a photo of the primate sitting on a dock.
UF BACKS AWAY FROM TAKING OVER ORLANDO RESEARCH FACILITY
University officials said in a statement this week that they were unable to proceed with taking over the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. In a statement, university officials say it’s unclear how UF could help in a timely manner, especially given the likely need for legislative approval.
MORE THAN 2.1 MILLION FLORIDIANS HAVE VOTED IN ELECTION
New numbers released Thursday by the state Division of Elections show more than 585,000 voters have gone to early voting sites that opened in 50 counties. Another 1.54 million voters sent in their ballots by mail. Florida is a battleground state and the start of early voting prompted Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton to sweep through the state this past week. There are nearly 13 million registered voters.
MOTHER OF PULSE VICTIM MAKES ANTI-TRUMP AD
The digital ad was released Wednesday by the gay rights group, the Human Rights Campaign. It features Christine Leinonen, the mother of Christopher Leinonen, who was one of the 49 Pulse patrons killed during the massacre.
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