Most Popular Stories
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Marissa Alexander's husband speaks out
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Rico Gray says he and Marissa Alexander had only been married two and a half months before that August 2010 night when she fired a gun at him and his two young sons. He says he and Marissa had been fighting over text messages on her phone. He says he wanted to call off their marriage, when
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Hundreds of new jobs coming to Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville just got a huge jolt. Wednesday, Mayor Alvin Brown announced 200 jobs are available and up for grabs. "The average salary is going to be from 40 to 60 thousand dollars a year," he said. Florida Blue will be providing the jobs via it's subsidiary Novitas Solutions. According to Mayor Brown, more than 38,000 people are
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2 Navy ships collide in Pacific; no injuries
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The U.S. Navy says an amphibious assault ship and a replenishment tanker collided in the Pacific Ocean but there were no injuries and no fuel spills. A Third Fleet public affairs statement says the collision between the assault ship USS Essex and the oiler USNS Yukon occurred at midmorning Wednesday approximately 120 miles off Southern California.
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911 tape: Confusion at home where mom shot kids
PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. (AP) - The neighbors of a Florida woman who fatally shot her four children before committing suicide were confused initially about who had been shot when they opened their front door in the middle of the night to find three of the kids outside. A 911 call released Wednesday shows that the neighbors weren't sure if
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DCF probes relationship between local teacher & student
NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating the relationship between a local male student and a female teacher. According to DCF, "inappropriate communications," allegedly occured between a teacher at Beaches Chapel School in Neptune Beach and one of her students. A teenager who attends the school tells Action News the teacher had some sort of inappropriate communication with a student.
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Watching for possible storm development
JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- The large area of rain and storms that moved across especially Northeast Florida earlier today is moving east into the Atlantic. The First Alert Weather Center is now watching for new storm development into this evening. Since Southeast Georgia has had the most sun today, temperatures have warmed well into the 80s making for an unstable atmosphere.
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11 students affected by rash at high school
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Eleven students and a teacher at a South Florida high school are being transported to local hospitals after coming down with a rash while in class. Broward County Public Schools officials say the students were all in the same classroom at McArthur High School in Hollywood on Tuesday morning when they started complaining about an itching
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Just Rain So Far...Storms to Follow?
JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- Gray skies, rainy conditions across the Jacksonville Metro Area so far on this Wednesday. It's been a well-needed soaker across parts of Northeast Florida, especially inland. The most significant weather has been in southern St. Johns County, Putnam County, and Flagler County. Thunderstorms moved across Palatka, Marineland, Espanola, Dupont Center, Crescent Beach, Palm Coast, and Bunnel around
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FBI raiding local college
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation is executing a search warrant on FastTrain College. The FBI is not giving many details about the raid, but a spokesperson does say the Bureau is executing the search warrant as part of a joint investigation between the FBI and the U.S. Department of Education. FastTrain College's website says the school has
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Police looking for woman stealing wallets from the elderly
FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. -- Police are looking for a woman who is following elderly shoppers in grocery stores and stealing their wallets from their carts. On April 28, 2012, a woman called police in reference to a stolen wallet. Viki Pourciau said that she was doing her weekly shopping at the Fleming Island Publix at 5000 Highway 17. Prior to
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New pretrial dates set for Cristian Fernandez
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Cristian Fernandez was not in court this morning as a judge presided over a pretrial hearing for Jacksonville's youngest murder suspect. Fernandez is charged with the murder of his younger brother. He also faces sex battery charges. The judge set Fernandez's next hearings for May 30 and May 31.
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Traffic moving again after accident takes out power pole
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- South Lane Avenue has reopened after an SUV crashed into a power pole early this morning. Police originally said the road would be closed until about 7 a.m., but traffic is moving around that power pole right now. Action News has a crew monitoring the situation on the scene and will bring you the very latest as
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Man gets 55 years in home invasion attack
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It's difficult to imagine that anybody could harm a helpless 79-year-old woman, but in January 2010, now 81-year-old, Kathleen Jones was beaten, tied up and robbed by burglar Kenneth Sumpter. Today, Jones feels justice has finally been served as her attacker was sentenced to a minimum of 50 years in prison. He has no chance of release
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Thursday on the Restaurant Report
Thursday on the Action News Restaurant Report, Tera Barz visits a local place that had rats and roaches in the kitchen! It didn’t take Tera long to find problems in the kitchen, like rodent droppings and dead roaches. They were about to start serving lunch – but Tera’s tough questions made them change their mind. Don’t miss the original restaurant
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Former 2 Live Crew rapper to be football coach
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A state administrative law judge says former 2 Live Crew frontman Luther Campbell should be allowed to coach football in Florida schools. Judge Robert Meale made his recommendation Tuesday. The state refused to certify the 51-year-old rapper although he's been volunteering as an assistant coach with local approval in Miami. Education officials cited his songs' raunchy
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Thief caught on camera stealing donation jar
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Police say a man stole a donation jar full of money meant to help a critically injured boy. "It's a scumbag that came in, saw the generosity of the community and stole from it," says Brandon Beardsley, a father who donated money. Surveillance video shows the man taking the jar from the Outback Crab Shack. The
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Why do Florida Reps. refuse to pay more than $8 a month for health insurance?
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Eight bucks. These days it can't even buy you a movie ticket, let alone something substantial. But that's because you're not one of the 120 members of the Florida House of Representatives, the last "state employees" still paying $8.34 a month for health insurance. For a whopping $30, they get health insurance for their entire family. Action
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3-month-old rushed to the hospital
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 3-month-old is in the hospital fighting for her life. Police tell Action News the little girl was found unresponsive in an apartment at Hollybrook Homes on the Westside around 6:30 Tuesday night. Police say she was with her dad, but they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident to make sure there was no foul play. The child
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Records detail George Zimmerman's medical injuries
MIAMI (AP) - Court records show George Zimmerman had a pair of black eyes, a nose fracture and two cuts to the back of his head after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The medical records were part of evidence released Tuesday that prosecutors have in the second-degree murder case against Zimmerman. He has entered a plea of not
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Local woman wins dinner with President Obama and George Clooney
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- As a former Jaguars cheerleader, Karen Blutcher is used to the big stage. What she wasn't expecting was a phone call telling her she'd been selected to eat dinner with President Barack Obama. "After I picked myself off the floor, I ran and told my husband. It was just unbelievable to think that $14 got me a
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JEA votes to lower electric rate
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Mary Killings has lived in her historic Springfield home for more than 40 years. With an older property, she's watched her electric bill climb through the roof. "I approximately started with about a $50 bill maybe, but now I'm having between two and 300 bill," she said. After a quick stroll around Killings house we could see her
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Beckham meets Obama
David Beckham and his Los Angeles Galaxy teammates met President Barack Obama at the White House Tuesday, where the soccer stars were applauded for their Major League Soccer Cup win. Beckham, 37, led the Los Angeles team to victory over Houston Dynamo in November and had to endure a few jokes about his age during a press conference with Obama. The
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Mayor's pension problem
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- If he said it once on the campaign trail, he said it 1000 times. Mayor Alvin Brown vowed not to take a pension. But Action News has learned the mayor has been collecting city money since taking office in July of 2011. Mayor Brown wasn't available for an interview on the issue. But his administration issued a statement early
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Scandal in St. Augustine Beach
ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. -- There was standing room only inside the St. Augustine Beach City Commission meeting Tuesday afternoon. Friends and neighbors watched as the Commission made three important decisions regarding Police Chief Richard Hedges and Assistant Chief Daniel Decoursey. First, the FDLE will investigate the police department. Second, Chief Hedges is on paid administrative leave during that investigation. And
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Funeral set for unarmed man killed by police
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Funeral services are set for an unarmed man shot and killed by police last week. Davinian D. Williams will be laid to rest at the Titus Harvest Dome Spectrum Church on Atlantic Boulevard this Saturday. Services begin at 11 a.m. Police say Williams sped away from an officer who tried to pull him over for a traffic
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Mitt Romney to visit Jacksonville Thursday
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is stopping in Jacksonville this week. Romney will mingle with supporters at the River City Brewing Company on the Southbank this Thursday. The event begins at 2 p.m. Doors open at 1 p.m. Call (904) 325-6089 or click here to email the campaign to make reservations.
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Another afternoon of storms
JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- Intense thunderstorms will move across much of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia this afternoon and will produce blinding rain and frequent lightning. A few storms will also be capable of hail and strong, even damaging winds. Storm cells will move northeast near 20 mph. Expect some ponding of water and minor flooding on streets and highways resulting
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Jags first organized session, Knighton talks about altercation
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Jaguars opened their first session of organized team activities Tuesday morning at EverBank Field. The workout was the first opportunity for first round pick Justin Blackmon to work on the field with Blaine Gabbert. Tuesday also was the first time defensive tackle Terrance Knighton spoke publicly about the altercation he was involved in at Pure nightclub.
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Man sentenced to two life sentences for sexual battery on a child
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A Marion County man has been convicted following more than 10 years of sexual battery on a child. 66-year-old George Robert Lightkep Jr, has been convicted to two life sentences on two counts of Sexual Battery on a Person Less Than 12 years of Age. The State Attorney's Office says Lightkep forced sexual activity on one
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Low FCAT scores: What went wrong?
JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- Duval County educators knew this year, the new FCAT 2.0 would be more challenging, but preliminary scores for the state are in, and local leaders can't believe the numbers. Scores fell off a cliff for fourth graders on the writing test. They went from 81 percent last year to 27 percent this year, so Duval County educators are asking