TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- Kassy Brewer lives in a beautiful waterfront home in St. Petersburg. She and her husband bought what they thought would be their forever home five years ago and signed on with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. "We originally had the insurance for $5,000 a year," she explained. Then, they were dropped. "We went to another insurance policy, and that company went under," Brewer explained. "Then we went to our third policy." It will now cost her $20,000 a year for her flood and homeowners insurance combined. "If it goes up anymore, what will that mean for you and your ..read more

(The Hill) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Thursday his state “will not comply” with recently unveiled changes to Title IX by the Biden administration. “Florida rejects [President Biden’s] attempt to rewrite Title IX,” DeSantis said in a video posted to the social platform X. “We will not comply, and we will fight back.” “We are not gonna let Joe Biden try to inject men into women's activities,” DeSantis continued. “We are not gonna let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents, and we are not gonna let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us her ..read more

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man decided to put on his best dress to steal a boat on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Glades County Sheriff's Office. Just after 3 p.m., deputies were investigating a stolen boat in the Old Caloosa Lodge area in Lakeport, just west of Lake Okeechobee ..read more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The two NASA astronauts assigned to Boeing’s first human spaceflight arrived at their launch site Thursday, just over a week before their scheduled liftoff. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will serve as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which is making its debut with crew after years of delay. They flew from Houston into Kennedy Space Center on Thursday. Due to blast off May 6 atop an Atlas rocket, the Starliner will fly to the International Space Station for a weeklong shakedown cruise. Boeing is trying to catch up to SpaceX, which has been launching astr ..read more

(The Hill) -- Weather forecasters at the University of Pennsylvania predicted a record hurricane season for 2024 on Thursday, a “hyperactive” season that could threaten the Gulf Coast. The UPenn forecast predicts between 27-39 named tropical storms, with the best estimate of 33 storms, the most of any forecast in the 15-year history of the project. An average season usually has about half that number. “We’ve seen many hyperactive seasons over the past decade, and in just about all cases, like our prediction for this year, the activity is substantially driven by ever-warmer conditions in the tr ..read more

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Virginia State Police are searching for more information about a Florida man accused of possession of child sexual abuse material, the FDLE announced Thursday. Authorities said Jason Robert Fragale, 38, was arrested by Virginia State Police in January. Stephan Sterns, charged with Madeline Soto’s murder, skips first court appearance Fragale is believed to have contacted juveniles on messaging apps, with possible victims in Florida, according to FDLE. Authorities said Fragale has a residence in Kissimmee and has ties to ..read more

Related video: DeSantis signs bill to help homeowners afford repairs ahead of hurricane season. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Flags will be flying at flag-staff in one Florida city on Monday. Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered the United States flag and the State of Florida flag to be flown at half-staff to honor Bill Gunter ..read more

DESTIN, Fla. (WMBB) -- On its first venture out at sea, the Flat Dangerous charter fishing boat captained by George Gill landed a huge score. "South of Destin about 67 miles we found a big 'ol school of bluefin tuna and was able to get a bait in front of one of them, he ate and we went to fight it," said Gill. Gill said the owner of the charter Warren Williamson was the first to fight the massive tuna, lasting an hour or longer before the fish took a turn. "The fish actually died on us about an hour and 15 minutes into the fight," said Gill. "It got tail wrapped and when that happens, the fish ..read more

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Stephan Sterns, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the death and disappearance of Madeline Soto, is set to make his first appearance in court Thursday following the murder charge, court records show. Sterns is set to appear at 1 p.m. in front of Judge Tanya Davis Wilson in Osceola County. Sterns is also facing 60 charges related to child sex crimes and was set for a pretrial hearing on Wednesday. Sterns did not show for the hearing, and the pretrial hearing and jury trial were pushed back to July 10 and Aug. 19, respectively. Sterns had previously waived his ..read more

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A priest out of Charlotte County is behind bars after deputies arrested him on five counts of capital sexual battery. Leo P. Riley, 68, was previously a priest at the Resurrection Church in Dubuque, Iowa, before moving to Port Charlotte in the early 2000s, where he became a priest at Saint Charles Borromeo. His most recent assignment was at San Antonio Catholic Church ..read more