FOX NEWS — Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Saturday that the country plans to apply for NATO membership in the next few days. In a release, Niinisto’s office said that he had stressed how Russian demands late last year aiming at preventing countries from joining NATO had “altered the security environment...
May 19, 2024
Building a better community with youth safety
By Marnie Ward, Ph.D. Long shadows were forming under the live oak trees at Florida Best Blueberry Farm, as families and volunteers gathered for the first Citrus County 4-H Progressive Agriculture Safety event. Each year, Progressive Agriculture Safety Days© reach tens of thousands of kids across the United States and Canada with potential life-saving education. According to the National Safety...
Florida elected officials’ war of words with Biden escalates
(The Center Square) – Florida’s war of words with President Joe Biden continues after its former governor and now junior senator, Republican Sen. Rick Scott, called on the president to resign. Biden blamed Republicans for record-high inflation Tuesday, also claiming they want to raise taxes, taking aim at Scott. “They don’t want to solve inflation by lowering your costs,” Biden...
Convicted county felon faces 2 years for falsifying federal firearm paperwork
Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Florida OCALA — Senior United States District Judge Gregory A. Presnell has sentenced Darrell Pierre Hopkins (54, Dunnellon) to 24 months in federal prison for making a materially false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms and knowingly causing a licensed gun dealer to maintain false information in its official...
‘Operation Rotten Eggs’ nets 35 arrests
During the past two days, just in time for Easter, members of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Tactical Impact Unit (TIU) conducted a covert operation to search for the ‘rotten eggs’ that have been involved in the sale and distribution of illicit narcotics in Citrus County. Partnering with agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Homeland Security) Air...
4 charged with stone crab fishing violations
On Tuesday, April 5, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers aboard the FWC’s offshore patrol vessel Fin Cat along with FWC aviation unit officers were jointly conducting an operation to monitor for stone crab vessels fishing in the closed areas of the Big Bend stone crab – shrimping zones. The FWC aviation crew advised they had viewed a...
FDA authorizes second booster shot for people age 50, older
THE HILL — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Tuesday gave the green light to a second coronavirus vaccine booster shot for people age 50 and older in an effort to ward off another potential spike in infections due to a subvariant of omicron. The agency granted emergency use authorization to vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech as well as from...
1 dead after deputy-involved shooting on March 25
A Dunnellon man was killed on March 25 after showing a gun and being shot dead on the scene. At approximately 5:30 p.m. on March 25, Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputies initially responded to a residence off of North Windbreak Terrace in Dunnellon in response to a disturbance and verbal altercation. Upon arrival, deputies met with the complainant, the Citrus...
Citrus County felon gets 10 years for possession of firearms, ammo
OCALA — Senior U.S. District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Robert Joseph Miller (46, Homosassa) to 10 years in federal prison for possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon and possession of unregistered National Firearms Act (NFA) firearms – sawed-off shotguns. The Court also ordered Miller to forfeit approximately 50 firearms and more than 8,400 rounds of...
Pivotal week kicks off for Amazon unionization campaigns
THE HILL — Workers at a Staten Island, N.Y., Amazon facility will begin voting in person Friday on whether they want to unionize. At the same time, a thousand miles south, workers at the e-commerce giant’s Bessemer, Ala., warehouse are in the final stretch of a mail-in vote that will be counted Monday. The two elections are labor’s best chance...