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The Trump administration is considering a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by The Associated Press. The 11-page document calls for the unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement as far north as Portland, Oregon, and as far east as New Orleans, Louisiana. Four states that border on Mexico are included in the proposal — California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas — but it also encompasses seven states contiguous to those four — Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
A Florida man is accused in a plot to blow up several Target stores along the East Coast in an attempt to acquire cheap stock if the company’s stock value plunged after the explosions. Mark Charles Barnett, 48, was charged in a criminal complaint filed Thursday with possession of a firearm affecting commerce by a previously convicted felon, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office in Florida’s middle district. Barnett, a registered sex offender in Florida, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
A man accused of fatally injuring Pinky, the Busch Gardens flamingo made famous through her dancing videos, is too mentally ill to go to trial, a judge declared Friday. Two doctors examined Joseph Corrao in recent weeks, concluding that the 45-year-old is incompetent to proceed toward trial on a charge of aggravated animal cruelty. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Tom Barber ordered that they should both appear at a future court date to discuss their findings and treatment options to restore Corrao to competency.
Historians can point to plenty of past presidents who have sparred with the press. But they’re hard-pressed to find anything that approaches the all-out attack on the media that President Donald Trump seems intent on escalating at every turn.
Republicans got the implicit approval to repeal the Affordable Care Act from voters in November, but it’s a lot harder to do when you’re staring into the face of worried patients and parents in February. That’s why a lot of politicians have taken safer routes, John Romano writes. They’re conversing with voters on Facebook, or on teleconferences where speakers can be screened. Some have dropped the pretense altogether, and aren’t even bothering to check in with the folks back home.
Bloomin’ Brands, whose holdings of 1,500-plus restaurants also include Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, today reported declining customer traffic across all four of its chains, lower sales at three of its four brands, the closing of 43 underperforming restaurants and a $4.3 million loss for the fourth quarter that ended on Dec. 31.For all of 2016, Bloomin’ recorded lower sales at all four chains but reported net income of $41.7 million — a third of the company’s net income in 2015.
Their tiny fraternity includes former postal workers and power lifters. They’ll arrive at the starting line from north Tampa and North Carolina, Palm Harbor and Polk County. There’s a Colombian, and an octogenarian. Some have great-grandchildren. All have great mettle. That may be the closest common denominator linking the seven men who have competed in all 39 previous Publix Gasparilla Distance Classics.
Despite winning three of its last four games, the Lightning remains six points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference — seven points behind Boston for third in the Atlantic Division. Six teams separate Tampa Bay and the last wild card. Most have an easier path to the playoffs, according to a Times schedule analysis.
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