Odd, strange, or bizarre news stories from Florida

Federal wildlife officials in Florida are reportedly seeking information on the perpetrators of an attack on a manatee, which apparently had the word “Trump” scraped into its back.

The attack on the animal was reported by the Citrus County Chronicle, which showed a picture of the large aquatic mammal with the name of the US president clearly visible by being etched into its skin.

“The US Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the harassment of a manatee,” the paper said, adding that the manatee had been videoed in the Blue Hole spring, on the Homosassa River in the state.

Authorities were appealing for any and all information on who might have assaulted the manatee.

Large, gray and docile, manatees are popular attractions in Florida, though their numbers are at risk due to habitat loss and the danger of boat strikes.

A strange light over the South Florida sky Tuesday evening had many residents bracing for extraterrestrial contact, but it turned out to be the Navy testing a missile.

Floridians will be disappointed (or maybe relieved) to find out that it was just the Navy testing a Trident-II ballistic missile from a submarine, according to meteorologist Zach Covey.

The Federation of American Scientists explains that the Trident-II "is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles."

It's not the first time that a rocket or missile test was mistaken for aliens.

Florida nurse performs butt injection on courtroom Zoom
By Olafimihan Oshin - 04/21/21 06:17 PM EDT

A Florida nurse on Wednesday performed a butt injection on a patient while waiting for her virtual court hearing to start.

Miami Herald reporter David Ovalle earlier Wednesday tweeted a picture of a man getting a butt injection from a female nurse during the Zoom court hearing.

“MIAMI ZOOM COURT: We’ve reached peak 305. Someone appears to be getting a butt injection while appearing in a virtual hearing,” Ovalle wrote in his post, referring to Miami's zip code.



Florida nurse performs butt injection on courtroom Zoom

A Florida nurse on Wednesday performed a butt injection on a patient while waiting for her virtual court hearing to start.

Miami Herald reporter David Ovalle earlier Wednesday tweeted a picture of a man getting a butt injection from a female nurse during the Zoom court hearing.

“MIAMI ZOOM COURT: We’ve reached peak 305. Someone appears to be getting a butt injection while appearing in a virtual hearing,” Ovalle wrote in his post, referring to Miami's zip code.

“It's my understanding that the defendant was actually the nurse or whoever was giving the injection, which actually makes it a gazillion times more bizarre,” Ovalle said in an email to The Hill.

The Hill reached out to the Miami-Dade state attorney's office for information about the presumed defendant and her case.

“The case of the State of Florida v Niurka Aguero (Criminal court case number F20-004150) is charged as a 3rd Degree Grand Theft,” a spokesman said in an email to The Hill. “The case was on the court calendar, via Zoom, for a status hearing (also called a sounding). It seems that during the waiting period prior to the case being brought before the judge, Niurka Aguero was involved in some kind of procedure involving a male receiving an injection in the buttocks, which she appears to have inadvertently broadcast (via Zoom).

"Needless to say, it appears that everyone involved in the Zoom court call was surprised,” the spokesperson added.

The Miami-Dade state attorney's office didn’t provide any more information on the defendant.

Deputies: Florida man fatally shoots neighbor in dispute over a cat

By: Associated Press
Posted at 12:01 PM, Oct 22, 2021
and last updated 12:01 PM, Oct 22, 2021

Authorities say a 58-year-old Florida man is accused of killing his neighbor in a dispute over a cat that wandered into his yard.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office says Clifford Anthony Bliss Jr. became angry when the cat went into his yard Wednesday.

He went to his neighbor’s home in Umatilla and threatened to shoot the cat.

Deputies say 41-year-old James Arland Taylor Jr. asked him not to shoot the cat.

So Bliss shot Taylor at least once in the chest.

He's now charged with second-degree murder and being held without bond.

Records don't list a lawyer for him.

Clearwater women arrested after throwing glitter at man while breaking into his apartment, police say
By Fox 13 News staff Published January 11, 2022 2:55PM

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Clearwater police arrested two women accused of breaking into a man's apartment and throwing glitter at him during a dispute.

Police said the incident happened just before 3 a.m. Monday, when 29-year-old Sarah Franks and 27-year-old Kaitlin O'Donovan showed up at the victim's Clearwater apartment.

According to their arrest affidavits, the women began arguing with the man as he stood on his fenced patio, located on the ground level of the apartment building. That's when police said they threw a container of glitter at the victim, hitting him in his head and upper torso.

Franks then allegedly jumped over the patio's fence and entered the victim's apartment, where investigators said she then threw more containers of glitter at him.

Meanwhile, the affidavit said O'Donovan had walked around to the front door of the apartment, so Franks unlocked the door to let her inside.

Police said the women then threw more containers of glitter at the victim. Before leaving the victim's apartment, investigators said Franks kicked a lower apartment window until it broke. The women then fled the apartment complex in their vehicle.

About an hour later, investigators tracked the car back to their apartment and said the vehicle was still warm to the touch. Police spotted glitter inside the car.

Officers then saw Franks walking in the area wearing the same clothing the victim had told them she wore at the time of the incident.

Police arrested both women and charged them with felony burglary with assault or battery. Franks was also charged with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, for allegedly kicking out the apartment window.

Franks and O'Donovan were taken to the Pinellas County Jail and each given $75,000 bond. Franks was released, while O'Donovan remains behind bars.

"He didn't seem like someone lost or confused. He seemed very intentional, very business like, like he was dressed for business, just with a machete," said the woman.

The incident has been reported to police but Lauderhill Police acknowledged the bizarre nature of this incident, but they haven't identified any crimes that were committed, so it's just classified as a suspicious incident.

Tiffany Trump — who is set to tie the knot with billionaire heir Michael Boulos at Mar-a-Lago this weekend in a lavish ceremony — is “flipping out” as an impending hurricane heads toward posh Palm Beach, Fla.

The swanky club was evacuated on Wednesday and staff were sent home, a source tells Page Six.