Million-dollar homes increasingly replace small-town beach vibes, pushing out longtime residents and transforming oceanfront communities.

The threat of hurricanes and costs of insurance are pushing residents into former citrus lands and inland communities.

Small cities in big Texas metro areas are the fastest-growing in the U.S. The Census Bureau reported Thursday that Celina, Princeton, Melissa and Anna were at the top of the list from mid-2024 to mid-2025. All are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Fulshear, near Houston, ranked second. These cities saw growth rates from nearly 15% to 25%. Texas cities like Fort Worth and Austin also saw significant population gains. Seattle was the only non-Southern city in the top 10 for numeric growth, driven by

Environmental groups say the expected closure of a detention center in the Florida Everglades is linked to their lawsuit. The center, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” could close in the next month or two. A federal appellate court recently allowed it to remain open but sent the case back to a lower court. Attorney Paul Schwiep says the defendants are “waving the white flag” as the same judge who ordered its shutdown reassumes oversight. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he hasn't received official w

Rapper Kodak Black has been arrested on a drug trafficking charge in central Florida. He was booked into the Orange County Jail on Wednesday for trafficking MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly. On Thursday, he entered a written plea of not guilty and requested a jury trial. His arrest followed a police encounter in Orlando in December. Officers found a pink bag containing MDMA, $37,000, and documents with his name during a vehicle search. The bag matched one seen in a photo on his Instagram. Ko

A Florida sheriff says a body found in Tampa Bay has been identified as the second missing University of South Florida doctoral student from Bangladesh. Nahida Bristy’s remains were in a garbage bag, discovered by a kayaker whose fishing line got snagged. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said the positive identification was eventually made using DNA and dental records. The body of her friend, fellow USF doctoral student Zamil Limon, was found in another garbage bag on a bridge over th

Family members say the behavior of a suspect in the murders of two University of South Florida students worsened over time because of marijuana use. Hisham Abugharbieh was arrested three years ago for punching his brother and kicking his mother. He was delusional, claiming to be “son of Mary.” He was taken to jail under the Baker Act for mental health observation. Last week, Abugharbieh, 26, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The remains of his roommate, Zamil Limon, were found

A suspect has been ordered held without bond for murder charges in the killings of two University of South Florida students. A judge Tuesday ordered the 26-year-old defendant to have no contact with witnesses or the victims' relatives. The suspect faces two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon. Prosecutors haven’t yet indicated if they'll seek the death penalty. Detectives used cellphone and license plate data to track the man's car and one victim’s phone to a bridge where a body was foun

Prosecutors say the suspect in the killings of two University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh had asked ChatGPT days before the pair went missing what would happen if a human body was put in a garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster. According to a pretrial detention report, Hisham Abugharbieh also asked the artificial intelligence chatbot whether the identification number on his car could be changed. ChatGPT responded that Abugharbieh’s question sounded dangerous. The remains of

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claims diversity, equity, and inclusion programs discriminate against white men. On Wednesday, he signed legislation banning local governments from funding or promoting DEI initiatives. DeSantis describes DEI as promoting a political agenda at the expense of white males and others. Evelyn Foxx, president of the NAACP branch in Gainesville, disagrees, saying the governor is out of touch. The new law allows residents to sue local governments for violations, and offici

An appeals court has decided that an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” will remain open. The court upheld its earlier decision to block a judge's order for the facility to wind down operations because it didn't comply with federal environmental law. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday that the facility doesn't need to comply with federal environmental law because it's not under federal control. The court paused the original order

Florida's attorney general has opened an investigation into OpenAI's ChatGPT. The probe, announced Tuesday, examines the AI app's interactions with a gunman charged with a fatal shooting at Florida State University last year. Attorney General James Uthmeier says prosecutors reviewed chat logs between ChatGPT and the gunman, Phoenix Ikner. They aim to determine if the app aided or abetted the crime. Florida's Office of Statewide Prosecution has subpoenaed OpenAI for records. Ikner faces charges o

Tiger Woods' attorney plans to fight prosecutors' attempts to subpoena the golfer's prescription drug records. The attorney argues that Woods has a constitutional right to privacy regarding his medications. He asked a judge in Florida this week to hold a hearing to determine if the records are necessary for the investigation. Woods has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence. Authorities say he showed signs of impairment after an accident last month. Prosecutors are seeking his prescri

A lawyer says guards severely beat and pepper-sprayed detainees at a state-run immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades. A lawyer for two of the detainees says the beating happened after they complained about not having phone access on April 2. The lawyer says the guards taunted and then attacked the detainees. Guards punched one of her clients in the face and broke another detainee's wrist. Phone service was restored the next day without explanation.

The most popular last names in the U.S. might be unchanged from the previous decade, but Asian surnames were the fastest-growing at the start of 2020s. The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones were the top five last names in the U.S. in 2020, unchanged from 2010. The fastest-growing surnames from 2010 to 2020 were Asian, including Zhang, Liu and Wang. The most popular male first names were Michael, John, James, David and Robert, while Mary, Maria, Je

Prosecutors are seeking Tiger Woods' prescription drug records from a Florida pharmacy. This comes a week after his vehicle crashed and he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. On Tuesday, prosecutors in Florida said they plan to issue a subpoena for all prescription records at Lewis Pharmacy in Palm Beach. They want details such as the times prescriptions were filled and any warnings about driving. Woods pleaded not guilty last week after deputies found pain pills in his poc

Environmental groups have asked a federal appellate court panel to lift its temporary halt on closing an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. Known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” the center remains open due to arguments by Florida and the Trump administration. They claimed the state hadn't gotten federal reimbursement, so it wasn’t required to follow federal environmental law. On Tuesday, during a hearing in Miami, the judges questioned how much control the federal government had ov

Governors in Florida and Mississippi have signed laws requiring officials to verify voters' citizenship. Florida's law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, already faces legal challenges from civil rights groups. They argue it could make voting harder for many Floridians. The law requires voters to provide specific documents if their eligibility is questioned. Mississippi's law, signed Wednesday by Gov. Tate Reeves, mandates additional citizenship checks for voter registration. Both laws a

Tiger Woods says he’ll step away and seek treatment after his SUV crash in Florida. Woods made his comments Tuesday, four days after the crash that led to his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. Woods pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in his driving under the influence case. The plea came hours after a sheriff’s report said he had pain pills in his pocket and showed signs of impairment at the crash scene last week. I’s the second time Woods has taken a leave following a car crash. In

Tiger Woods’ refusal to take a urine test following his recent rollover crash can be prosecuted under a change to Florida law last year. David Hill, an Orlando defense attorney who isn’t involved in Woods’ case, said Monday that under the change, refusing a law enforcement officer’s request to take a breath, blood or urine test became a misdemeanor, even for a first offense. Refusal was previously only prosecuted if a driver had refused to take a test during a prior incident. Hill says even with