Florida widened eligibility for its free swim-lesson vouchers to ages 1–7 as officials cite a record 2025 for child drownings and warn demand still outstrips funding.

Hot and muggy in Tampa with showers and thunderstorms likely this afternoon.

Four Tampa men received federal prison terms after pleading guilty to armed robberies at two Hillsborough County 7‑Eleven stores. Surveillance and a recovered rifle tied them to the crimes.

Flight deputies say a blue laser was shone into a sheriff's helicopter cockpit; a 62‑year‑old Dunedin man was arrested and faces a felony charge. Investigation is ongoing.

A pedestrian was killed Friday in a crash at U.S. 19 and Countryside Boulevard in Clearwater; southbound lanes at SR 580 remain closed while police investigate.

Antoine Kassis was sentenced to 30 years after prosecutors said he brokered a weapons‑for‑cocaine pipeline from Syria to Colombia. The case exposed a laundering network that moved nearly $100 million.

A 30-year-old Orlando man died after his SUV left Ayers Road and overturned in a Hernando County cow pasture early Friday.

Hillsborough County has authorized contract talks for a $70M, multi‑court fieldhouse at the MOSI campus — a keystone of a planned $2B redevelopment with construction eyed for late 2026 and a 2028 opening.

A new Tampa Bay Business Journal ranking lists 1,079 local employers and more than 620,000 jobs across seven counties, with Publix and major health systems anchoring the region.

Detectives are investigating after a 56-year-old inmate at Falkenburg Road Jail died after being taken to Tampa General Hospital.

South Tampa’s Big Ray’s Fish Camp earned a repeat MICHELIN nod on the America’s Best Seafood Shack list, with inspectors praising smoked fish dip, fried grouper and its neighborhood vibe.

An FIU study found 6PPD‑quinone, a tire‑derived chemical, in every Hillsborough River sample over 10 months, with spikes after storms near downtown outfalls.

The team behind Michelin‑starred Rocca will open Lumbre at the Rome Collective next Wednesday, bringing wood‑fired grilling, paella and seafood tapas to NoHo.