Denise Royal

CNN —
Families of three students murdered at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, have reached multimillion-dollar settlements with the shooter, although it’s unclear whether they’ll ever collect.
Court documents show the parents of Luke Hoyer, 15, Alaina Petty, 14, and Meadow Pollack, 18, each reached $50 million settlements with the gunman. Maddy Wilford, a former MSD student who was wounded during the February 14, 2018, massacre, settled for $40 million.
Parkland sch...

CNN —
The Miami-Dade Police officer placed on administrative duties after the controversial traffic stop of Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill has been suspended multiple times, police records show.
Tyreek Hill tells CNN he’s still shell-shocked after being detained by police ahead of NFL game
Officer Danny Torres was placed on suspension at least six times during his 27-year career, according to his employee profile released late Friday afternoon by the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The profile...

CNN —
Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro spoke at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, just hours after he was released from a Miami federal prison following his completion of a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the January 6 congressional committee.
“I got a very simple message for you. If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump. Be careful. They will come for you,” he warned convention attendees in Milwaukee, where his former boss has be...

CNN —
Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill admitted some regrets about his actions during his pre-game detainment on Sunday but called for the officer who restrained him to be taken off the force.
“Gone. Gone. Gone. He gotta go, man,” Hill said Wednesday in a news conference. “In that instance right there, not only did he treat me bad, he also treated my teammates with disrespect, you know? He had some crazy words towards them, and they didn’t even do nothing. Like, what did they do to you? They w...

CNN —
The Florida sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a Black airman in his home has been fired, the sheriff’s office announced Friday.
The decision followed an internal investigation into the former deputy, Eddie Duran. This is the first time Duran’s identity has been publicly disclosed since the shooting earlier this month. A separate criminal investigation into the deputy’s actions is ongoing with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“The administrative investigation determined the dep...

CNN —
The University of Mississippi has opened a student conduct investigation after actions of “hostility and racist overtones” were portrayed during a demonstration on campus.
The incident unfolded Thursday on the school’s campus during a heated exchange between a group of pro-Palestinian protesters and a much larger group of counterprotesters.
About 30 pro-Palestinian protesters were demonstrating in a barricaded zone when they were surrounded by an estimated 200 counterprotesters, some ho...

CNN —
The husband of Ana Maria Knezevich Henao, a woman who was reported missing while in Spain in February, has been arrested in Florida, the FBI confirmed Monday.
David Knezevich, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is in federal custody for his alleged involvement in his wife’s kidnapping on or about February 2, 2024, according to FBI spokesperson James Marshall.
His arrest was made without incident Saturday by the Diplomatic Security Service and the FBI at Miami International Airport, Marsha...

CNN's Carlos Suarez looks at the state of the book banning spree in Florida, where one school district has resorted to altering children's books.

Viera, Florida CNN —
In Florida, where the right-wing Moms for Liberty group was born in response to Covid-19 school closures and mask mandates, the first Brevard County School Board meeting of the new year considered whether two bestselling novels – “The Kite Runner” and “Slaughterhouse-Five” – should be banned from schools.
A lone Moms for Liberty supporter sat by herself at the January 23 meeting, where opponents of the book ban outnumbered her.
Nearly 20 speakers voiced opposition to remo...

Today's key hearings: Two of Donald Trump’s criminal cases — the Georgia election subversion case and Mar-a-Lago classified documents case — faced pivotal hearings today. Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges, and with his third presidential bid underway, the stakes are high.

In Georgia: A judge heard final arguments on whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the Georgia election subversion case after Trump and his co-defendants all...

CNN —
Two Florida chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine remain active, despite Gov. Ron DeSantis asserting during Wednesday night’s GOP presidential primary debate that he had deactivated them.
According to State University of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, both SJP chapters said they are not chartered by the national organization that faces scrutiny from the DeSantis administration.
During the debate, DeSantis acknowledged the controversy surrounding the student organizations, but...

Dearborn, Michigan CNN —
In 2020, Eman Hammoud was one of thousands of Michigan Muslims who helped President Joe Biden beat Donald Trump. A month ago, the Palestinian American immigration lawyer had no doubts she would support his campaign again in 2024.
But over the last few weeks, she’s watched the Biden administration offer unwavering support to Israel after it declared war on Hamas following the Palestinian militant group’s deadly October 7 attack, with no red lines for Israel and no call...

West Palm Beach, Florida CNN —
A plumber, a maid, a chauffeur and a woodworker are among Mar-a-Lago staffers and contract workers who federal prosecutors may call to testify against former President Donald Trump and his two co-defendants at their upcoming criminal trial in Florida, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation.
CNN has assembled a comprehensive picture of how prosecutors are structuring their case against Trump over his mishandling of classified documents found...

Sarasota, Florida CNN —
Months after what critics have decried as a conservative takeover at New College of Florida, students and professors say a sense of confusion and anxiety looms over the start of fall semester in Sarasota, Florida.
Amy Reid, a member of the school’s Board of Trustees, said course options have dwindled after nearly 40% of faculty members have resigned.
Reid said the situation is quickly becoming “untenable.”
“Just before I came to this meeting, I received word that one m...

Lionel Messi makes a splash as he joins Inter Miami CF.