Can drivers face harsher penalties the faster they go? What Florida law says
Stiffer penalties aim to curb dangerous driving in Florida
Under House Bill 351, which went into effect just ahead of the busy July Fourth holiday weekend, first-time offenders can face a $500 fine, up to 30 days in jail or both. Repeat offenders risk a $1,000 fine and as many as 90 days behind bars.
A third violation within five years will result in a minimum six-month driver's license suspension.
MORE: When can you text and drive in Florida? What Florida law says
'I am a mother of a 7-year-old, and just for everyone's safety out there, I think it's crucial that everybody drives in the correct speed limit and, you know, bigger fines, bigger penalties,' local resident Stephanie Rojas told Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami. 'It's really important that everyone maintains safety.'
Lawmakers say the goal is to reduce dangerous speeding and save lives on Florida's roads, especially during high-traffic periods like holiday weekends.
This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami.
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Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
Gangs burn down Haiti's iconic Hotel Oloffson, host to stars and writers
Haiti's storied Hotel Oloffson, a favorite haunt of writers and artists that survived dictatorship, coups and a devastating earthquake and was immortalized in novelist Graham Greene's 'The Comedians,' is no more. After months of resisting gang threats and attacks that forced thousands in its surrounding Carrefour Feuilles neighborhood to abandon their homes and flee, the landmark hotel overlooking Haiti's capital was 'burned to the ground' Saturday evening into Sunday morning. The hotel's burning was confirmed to the Miami Herald by proprietor Richard A. Morse, who also announced the destruction on X, after drone images began circulating showing its hollowed out structure.. The culprits: members of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition, who had been using the sprawling hotel as a base for their takeover of Port-au-Prince and have been fighting with Haitian national police officers. Another source who confirmed the hotel's destruction said it was among several places in the area gangs burned during the confrontation with police, which intensified on Saturday afternoon. 'Losing the Oloffson reflects the incompetence of Haiti's oligarchs, the Haitian government, the United Nations as well as the French and American governments,' said Morse, an outspoken critic of Haiti's wave of crises and ongoing political instability. The founder of RAM, a Haitian roots band named after him, Morse took over the famed hotel in 1987 after it had been closed a year earlier. At the time it was in near ruins after having once served as a media hub for visiting press during the years of the Duvalier dictatorship. The musician soon transformed the Oloffson into a gathering place for Haitian culture featuring folkc dancers and Vodou rock performances. His band's weekly Thursday performances along the hotel's creaky, wooden balcony attracted both locals and tourists and became a must attend event as gawking visitors begged to see where Mick Jagger, Jackie Kennedy Onasis and Graham Greene once slept. 'Stepping into this magnificent gingerbread mansion with its cathedral ceilings, you could feel the lingering presence of legends —painters like Hector Hyppolite, Philomé Obin and André Pierre; dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham; former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of 'The Comedians;' Charles Addams of The Addams Family; and James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity — to name just a few,' said Port-au-Prince political analyst and former hotel patron Michel Eric Gaillard. 'Sipping a glass of rum at the old Acajou bar, you might have imagined yourself seated beside Rolling Stones icon Mick Jagger, or witnessing Graham Greene in deep conversation with Aubelin Jolicoeur. Brushing your hand against its walls, you did so with reverence—closing your eyes to absorb the vibrations, the echoes, the voices of history,' he added. 'The Oloffson withstood the 2010 earthquake, its wooden structure flexing with resilience as it stood tall above Port-au-Prince. But it could not defy manmade disaster. Like an old reel of film, it has faded into oblivion.' Gaelle Delaquis, a promoter of Haitian culture, said the hotel's destruction represents a great loss. 'I carry so many cherished memories of this cultural landmark,' she said. 'It was my Thursday Mass, the birthplace of the original Gede Fest – a true symbol of unity, generational legacy and Haitian excellence. 'They can destroy our city, but not our spirit,' Delaquis added. 'Our collective memory is our history.' Gregory Brandt, a fan who also used to support cultural events at the hotel, is mourning the hotel's destruction while trying to understand the logic. 'I am very said and don't understand the use of fire,' Brandt said. 'Take the house and move in, but the attraction for destruction and setting fire?' Built in the late 19th Century, the Oloffson was initially a private home owned by the Sam family, who lived there until President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in 1915 was lynched by an angry mob in the streets of Port-au-Prince. Sam had only been president for five months at the time of his death, which triggered a U.S. military intervention and a 19-year occupation of Haiti by U.S. marines. Until President Jovenel Moïse's equally brazen slaying four years ago, on July 7, 2021, Sam had been the last Haitian president to be assassinated. During the U.S. occupation, the Oloffson was used by the marines as a hospital, and following the departure of American forces in 1934, it was converted into a hotel in 1935. In 1960, Al Seitz, a New Yorker, became proprietor of the what was then called the 'Ginger Bread' Grand Hotel Oloffson, and he transformed it into a haven for both local and visiting celebrities whose names graced the hotel's rooms. In addition to Jagger and Greene, another draw was the Aubelin Jolicoeur room, named after the Haitian gossip columnist on whom Greene based his character Petit Pierre in 'The Comedians.' The Oloffson itself served as a muse for Greene's fictional Trianon Hotel in 'The Comedians,' which tells a tale of treachery and the absurdity of Haiti amid the rule of Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier. The hotel was also the setting for the 1967 film 'The Comedians,' starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, in which Burton portrayed the hotel manager. Seitz died in 1982 at the age of 64 of cancer, and years later Morse took over. Under Morse's management, the Oloffson braved deepening political instability, dried-up tourism, the 2010 earthquake and worsening gang violence. Still, its low room rates, lunches and rum sours continued to inspire a new generation of writers and foreign correspondents searching for news, as the hotel served as a repository for the latest political gossip and intrigue. Despite curfews, it still attracted Haiti's intellectuals, artists and foreign diplomats on its porch until the gang violence in Carrefour Feuilles and downtown Port-au-Prince completely made it off limits. 'The Oloffson has literally attracted everyone,' Morse said, noting that the late Anthony Bourdain, the celebrated chef and author, once listed it as among his five favorite spots in Haiti after visiting the country in 2011 to film season 7 of his show 'No Reservations.' The demise of the Oloffson follows a similar attack on The Lodge, a popular hotel in the hills above Port-au-Prince. The destruction is part of an alarming rise of violance against private homes and businesses by armed gangs that began ramping up their attacks at the beginning of the year. The violence is paralyzing Port-au-Prince, now up to 90% under gang control, and is quickly spreading to other regions of Haiti. Late last week, at least eight people were reported killed in gang attacks in the Lascahobas area in the Central Plateau. The United Nations issued an alert for the region after armed gangs orchestrated an attack, intensifying the already precarious humanitarian crisis in the rural area. Lascahobas was already hosting 7,455 internally displaced persons following gang attacks in April, the U.N. said. Now with the recent attacks, more Haitians have been forced to flee their homes. In Port-au-Prince, gangs have continued to torch century-old homes in historic neighborhoods like Pacot, not far from the Oloffson hotel, and in the hills above the capital of Kenscoff. Morse, who said he never understood why the hotel was listed as being in an off limits 'red zone' back in the 2000s when the gang problem wasn't what it is today, is vowing to rebuild. 'I'll do everything I can to get it back on its feet in spite of the powers that be,' he said. 'I feel free to finally speak out again. They can only burn it once.'
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
8-year-old girl killed when illegal fireworks display explodes in California
An 8-year-old girl was killed when an illegal July Fourth fireworks display blasted toward her, setting off other fireworks she was standing near — with the family friend who lit them already out on bail, according to authorities. Little Jasmine Nguyen was found late Friday by patrol officers who responded to the illegal pyrotechnic display in Buena Park, according to the Orange County Register. Responding officers 'observed family members frantically carrying a child into a residence,' the Buena Park Police Department said. Advertisement 3 An 8-year-old girl was killed when an illegal July Fourth fireworks display blasted toward her, setting off other fireworks she was standing near. FOX11 Los Angeles 'Officers immediately stopped to assist and discovered a young girl suffered critical injuries, consistent with a fireworks-related explosion,' the department said. The 8-year-old girl was rushed to a local hospital but could not be saved. The initial investigation suggests that 'a large illegal fireworks display, which was placed in the street by the homeowner, failed and began misfiring toward the residence where the child was,' police said. Advertisement 'This caused other illegal fireworks to ignite, which were near the child and others,' police said. 'At some point, the child had been struck, causing fatal injuries Several other individuals were present, but no significant injuries were reported.' 3 The young girl was found late Friday by patrol officers who responded to the illegal pyrotechnic display in Buena Park, according to the Orange County Register. FOX11 Los Angeles 3 The initial investigation suggests that 'a large illegal fireworks display, which was placed in the street by the homeowner, failed and began misfiring toward the residence where the child was,' police said. FOX11 Los Angeles Advertisement 'A large number of fireworks that detonated were illegal, per the investigation and assistance from both the Fire investigators and Bomb Squad,' the department wrote. Earl Decastro, a 46-year-old friend of the dead girl's family, was nabbed and booked for involuntary manslaughter. He has already been freed since posting $25,000 bail, the OC Register reported. The incident remains under investigation.
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
Chicago sees several mass shootings over Fourth of July weekend
The mass shooting in River North that claimed four lives and injured 14 others was the start of a violent Fourth of July weekend in Chicago. The latest: There were at least three mass shootings in Chicago from Wednesday to Saturday night. In addition to the River North shooting, seven people were injured from a shooting in Back of the Yards late Friday night, while four people were injured in a shooting near the Cook County Courthouse early Saturday morning. A mass shooting is classified as a shooting that kills or injures more than four people. No arrests have been made in any of those shootings yet. The big picture: Overall, the city's July Fourth shootings were down from last year, with at least 50 shot and six killed this year. Yes, but: That number doesn't include the River North mass shooting since it technically happened before the weekend began. Also, the numbers don't reflect any shootings from Sunday night. In 2024, the Fourth of July weekend claimed 19 lives with 109 shot in total. Zoom out: Gun violence in the city continues to trend down in 2025, with about a third fewer homicides year over year. Mayor Brandon Johnson hopes to have fewer than 500 homicides in 2025, a number not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the lines: The River North mass shooting made national headlines, reinforcing Chicago's dangerous reputation, despite the lower number of shootings overall.
