Comment on Area briefs

An unexpected reversal of fortunes suddenly gives Billy Napier’s surging Gators the upper hand against Mike Norvell’s struggling Seminoles. UF is coming off consecutive wins against ranked opponents while FSU cracked 20 points for the first time in nearly three months against Charleston Southern. Florida is a 15-point favorite during the latest meeting between the in-state rivals as the Gators seek their first win in Tallahassee since 2018.

South Florida this December will be a hot spot for holiday boat parades, with many flotillas of yachts sailing our waterways decked out in twinkling lights, American flags and Santas hoisting mojitos in palm-tree shirts. (How else would the Jolly Red Man take his siestas?) For some, December marks the first time in two years that paradegoers will witness festive boats floating down the Intracoastal, after poor wind conditions last year scrapped multiple parades at the last minute.

A criminal investigation has been launched after the U. S. Air Force reported that drones were spotted flying over English military bases, a British official said Wednesday. The U. S. Air Force reported several incursions occurred in the past week at four bases where the American forces operate. The drones were monitored and unspecified mitigation measures were underway. Ministry of Defense Police and local authorities are investigating the activity alongside U.

TALLAHASSEE — Weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis helped quash a proposal seeking to allow recreational marijuana, state health officials announced they intend to award medical-marijuana licenses to 22 of dozens of applicants who vied for the licenses more than 19 months ago. The move, posted on the Department of Health’s website Tuesday, sets up what could be drawn-out litigation from applicants that missed out on a rare chance to join the state’s medical-cannabis industry. The health agency’s website identified a list of 22 applicants that received “letters of intent to approve” medical-marijuana licenses.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Menendez asked a judge Wednesday to set aside guilty verdicts that forced his resignation from the U. S. Senate and grant a new bribery trial. Lawyers for the New Jersey Democrat said in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that a recent revelation by prosecutors that improper evidence was put on a computer used by jurors during deliberations means that a new trial is “unavoidable.” The 70-year-old Menendez was convicted in July of 16 charges, including bribery, in part based on an allegation that he accepted bribes in exchange for approving military aid to Egypt. He awaits a Jan.

By COLLEEN SLEVIN DENVER (AP) — Amid renewed interest in the killing of JonBenet Ramsey triggered in part by a new Netflix documentary, police in Boulder, Colorado, refuted assertions this week that there is viable evidence and leads about the 1996 killing of the 6-year-old girl that they are not pursuing. JonBenet Ramsey, who competed in beauty pageants, was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in the college town of Boulder the day after Christmas in 1996.