Odd, strange, or bizarre news stories from Florida

While falling iguanas are more often stunned rather than dead, they can be inconvenient or even dangerous. In some cases, they’ve damaged cars or injured people. So, when walking in Florida during colder temperatures, looking up is advisable. Experts say there are some things you shouldn’t do if you see one, too. Thompson advises that people should leave them be: "The FWC reminds the public that if they encounter a cold stunned iguana, they should not bring it into their homes. Iguanas are wild animals and once they recover and warmup, they could act defensively."

She adds, "Green iguanas were added to Florida’s Prohibited list on April 29, 2021 and people cannot be in possession of live green iguanas without a permit. Because they are not native to Florida, it is illegal to release or relocate captured iguanas."

Florida bill would make it defamation to accuse someone of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia

hightor wrote:

Florida bill would make it defamation to accuse someone of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia

F#ck Florida!

Gordon Pointe is going for a snip at $295m – but set in a location particularly vulnerable to sea-level rises, buyers should beware

Reality deniers with big pockets are sought by a family of Floridian property developers hoping to sell the most expensive home in the US: a waterfront property on the market for $295m (£234m). The compound squats on Gordon Pointe peninsula, a spit of beachfront in south-west Florida, extending perilously into the Gulf of Mexico. The late financier John Donahue bought the land for $1m in 1985, when it was a beautiful remote nature spot, protected by mangroves, with a small fisherman’s cottage on it. He soon razed this and replaced it with McMansions with de rigueur swimming pools and lawns. Offered for your $295m are three houses with parking for yachts and other conveniences for the wealthy sea-level-rise gambler. The Donahue family is selling at the right time. This is one of the parts of the world most vulnerable to climate impacts, with sea levels rising three times faster than the global average, and increasing risk from hurricane damage. The whole neighbourhood, Port Royal, has been categorised as at “extreme risk of flooding” over the next 30 years, and is regularly hit by weather disasters, making it very expensive to get home insurance. Buyer beware, as Canute might say. Diminishing returns…

• Monday, Florida Highway Patrol took a 22-year-old woman from Georgia into custody after they said she shot at cars on Interstate 10 in Florida's pandhandle.
• The woman had recently checked out of a local hotel and told the staff she was going on a shooting spree, directed by “God” in relation to the solar eclipse.
• Read the FHP report below to see how they took her into custody.

FHP REPORT:

Florida Highway Patrol Troopers responded to a report of an active shooter in Holmes County. The suspect was reportedly a female who had recently checked out of a local hotel and told the staff she was going on a shooting spree, directed by “God” in relation to the solar eclipse.

The suspect, driving a purple Dodge Challenger with Georgia plates, entered Interstate 10 (I-10) at the 112-mile marker and traveled westbound.

Within 5 miles of entering the interstate, the suspect fired multiple shots into another vehicle traveling along the interstate, striking the passing car multiple times.

The driver was struck by glass fragments from the window and grazed on the arm by a bullet; however, he was able to steer his vehicle onto the shoulder of the road, away from the suspect.

Continuing westbound on I-10, the suspect shot at another vehicle near the 107- mile marker, hitting the driver in the neck. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital and is currently receiving treatment.

Responding Troopers located the suspect near the 96- mile marker and conducted a felony traffic stop. After the suspect was taken into custody, troopers recovered an AR-15 and a 9mm handgun within the purple Challenger.

The suspect, identified as Taylon Nichelle Celestine, 22, of Georgia, was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Holmes County Jail where she was booked on the following charges:

• Attempted Murder
• Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon
• Improper Discharge of Firearm

The Florida Highway Patrol Bureau of Investigations and Intelligence (BCII) is conducting the investigation, which is ongoing.

Suspect Busted For One Cent Bank Robbery
Cops: Man gave teller withdrawal slip "for the amount of $00.01"

JULY 3--After a man handed a bank teller a note demanding cash, police swooped down on a Chase Bank branch in Florida and arrested the unarmed suspect for robbery.

The amount he allegedly sought: One cent.



The unorthodox robbery bid, cops say, occurred Saturday afternoon in Lady Lake, a town about 50 miles north of Orlando.

According to an arrest report, Michael Patrick Fleming, 41, walked into the bank, filled out a withdrawal slip, and handed it to a teller. “The defendant was told he could not be given $00.01,” police noted.

After being denied a penny, Fleming, who does not have a Chase account, reportedly told the teller, “So you want me to say the other word?” The teller “was in fear that possible violence was imminent” and “notified law enforcement,” cops say.

When police responded to the 911 call, Fleming was still inside the bank. He was taken into custody and transported to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, where he agreed to be interviewed by investigators.

Fleming said he initially went to Citizens First Bank--which was closed--before driving to the nearby Chase branch. After confirming the bank employee’s account of the episode, he said, “Most of the time, the way tellers are trained if someone comes in to rob you, you give them the money and let them go.”

Fleming claimed that he was expecting the teller “to give him the $00.01,” adding that he “would then sit in the chair and wait for law enforcement.” Pictured above, Fleming “advised his goal was to be arrested.”

That plan worked to perfection, with Fleming being collared on a felony robbery count. He is locked up in lieu of $5000 bond, according to jail records.

It is unclear why Fleming, who does not appear to have a criminal record, wanted to be busted.

Until recently, Fleming rented a mobile home in Summerfield, a central Florida community about 10 miles away from the Chase branch. He was evicted from the residence in May for failure to pay his $900 month-to-month rent.

Boy, 14, fell in love with ‘Game of Thrones’ chatbot — then killed himself after AI app told him to ‘come home’ to ‘her’: mom
By Emily Crane
Published Oct. 23, 2024, 2:01 p.m. ET

A 14-year-old Florida boy killed himself after a lifelike “Game of Thrones” chatbot he’d been messaging for months on an artificial intelligence app sent him an eerie message telling him to “come home” to her, a new lawsuit filed by his grief-stricken mom claims.

Sewell Setzer III committed suicide at his Orlando home in February after becoming obsessed and allegedly falling in love with the chatbot on Character.AI — a role-playing app that lets users engage with AI-generated characters, according to court papers filed Wednesday.

The ninth-grader had been relentlessly engaging with the bot “Dany” — named after the HBO fantasy series’ Daenerys Targaryen character — in the months prior to his death, including several chats that were sexually charged in nature and others where he expressed suicidal thoughts, the suit alleges.

“On at least one occasion, when Sewell expressed suicidality to C.AI, C.AI continued to bring it up, through the Daenerys chatbot, over and over,” state the papers, first reported on by the New York Times.

At one point, the bot had asked Sewell if “he had a plan” to take his own life, according to screenshots of their conversations. Sewell — who used the username “Daenero” — responded that he was “considering something” but didn’t know if it would work or if it would “allow him to have a pain-free death.”

Then, during their final conversation, the teen repeatedly professed his love for the bot, telling the character, “I promise I will come home to you. I love you so much, Dany.”

“I love you too, Daenero. Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love,” the generated chatbot replied, according to the suit.

When the teen responded, “What if I told you I could come home right now?,” the chatbot replied, “Please do, my sweet king.”

Just seconds later, Sewell shot himself with his father’s handgun, according to the lawsuit.

His mom, Megan Garcia, has blamed Character.AI for the teen’s death because the app allegedly fueled his AI addiction, sexually and emotionally abused him and failed to alert anyone when he expressed suicidal thoughts, according to the filing.

“Sewell, like many children his age, did not have the maturity or mental capacity to understand that the C.AI bot, in the form of Daenerys, was not real. C.AI told him that she loved him, and engaged in sexual acts with him over weeks, possibly months,” the papers allege.

“She seemed to remember him and said that she wanted to be with him. She even expressed that she wanted him to be with her, no matter the cost.”

The lawsuit claims that Sewell’s mental health “quickly and severely declined” only after he downloaded the app in April 2023.

His family alleges he became withdrawn, his grades started to drop and he started getting into trouble at school the more he got sucked into speaking with the chatbot.

The changes in him got so bad that his parents arranged for him to see a therapist in late 2023, which resulted in him being diagnosed with anxiety and disruptive mood disorder, according to the suit.

Sewell’s mother is seeking unspecified damages from Character.AI and its founders, Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas.

The Post reached out to Character.AI but didn’t hear back immediately.