Tim Kephart

All lanes of the Cortez Bridge in Manatee County were closed Wednesday after an early morning crash.

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa International Airport will break ground on its newest expansion for international and domestic travelers, Airside D.

Winter Haven Police asked for the public's help to identify a hit-and-run driver who slammed into a parked vehicle earlier this month.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that Florida's population continued to soar in 2024, reaching more than 23.3 million residents.

According to TPD, officers went to the 9400 block of N. Brooks Street about a call reporting a shooting around 7:30 a.m. Sunday. When officers arrived, they found an adult Hispanic male in his mid-30s dead on the front porch of a home.

DOJ suspends DEA's controversial asset forfeiture program in airports Prev Next The Department of Justice is now cracking down on airport interdictions called "consensual encounters" after multiple controversies about the practice by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Posted 3 minutes ago WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is now cracking down on airport interdictions called "consensual encounters" after multiple controversies about the practice by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The Institute for Justice called the move a "pretty significant change." "It means that air travelers across the United States, at all domestic airports, will not be subjected to these 'consensual encounter' interrogations by DEA," said Dan Alban, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice. The DOJ's move comes four years after ABC Action News I-Team Reporter Kylie McGivern highlighted the practice of civil asset forfeiture at airports by the DEA. Civil asset forfeiture allows federal agencies to seize cash and other property suspected of being involved in a crime, even if charges are never filed against the owner. "It's a predatory practice by DEA, and the reason DEA engages in this airport interdiction behavior is because the proceeds from everything they seize go into the DOJ asset forfeiture fund," Alban said. "A fund that can only be spent on federal law enforcement like DEA." Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the government over civil asset forfeiture and the taking of large amounts of cash from people who were not committing a crime. One of those lawsuits was filed by Stacy Jones of Tampa. Jones told her story in 2020 of having $40,000+ in cash seized by federal agents. Jones and her husband were questioned, their money seized and then released to fly home without it. “No charges, no evidence, no nothing. It was just seized," Jones said. “I knew that I hadn't done anything, but it was like — guilty until proven innocent.” There is no limit to the amount of cash a passenger can carry on a flight within the U.S. Critics say more needs to be done in Florida to close 'policing for profit' loophole Six months after the incident in 2020, Jones received her money back, but the DEA did not explain what had happened. "DEA does not have to ever prove in court that your money is connected to criminal activity," Alban said. "Instead, they can process most seizures through what is called the administrative forfeiture process, which is decided by DEA itself. So, the vast majority of these seizures never see the inside of a courtroom." Alban said a report from the Office of Inspector General is what prompted the pause on this practice. “That report shed light on the abusive behaviors by DEA agents in airports that are treating these ‘consensual encounters' as mandatory, as something people cannot choose not to participate in, they're targeting people sometimes based on race, sometimes based on completely innocuous things, such as last minute bookings of flights or booking a one-way ticket or travel between certain major hubs, all of which are things completely innocent travelers do every day." Mentioned in the report , was a video a passenger recorded and gave the I-Team permission to show. "The management alert released today also describes an incident earlier this year involving a traveler who was approached for a consensual encounter by a DEA Task Force Officer while boarding a flight. During this incident, after the traveler declined to provide consent, the DEA Task Force Officer detained the traveler's carry-on bag; subsequently, a law enforcement drug-detection dog, according to the DEA, alerted to the bag. The passenger eventually signed a consent form. No cash, drugs, or other contraband was found. By that time, the traveler had missed the original flight. The traveler made a video recording of this encounter on a personal recording device, and an edited version of the video and audio has been made public. None of the members of the DEA Task Force Group were wearing a body-worn camera, which is not required by any DEA or Department policy. The OIG further learned that the DEA Task Force Group selected this traveler for the encounter based on information provided by a DEA confidential source, who was an employee of a commercial airline, about travelers who had purchased tickets within 48 hours of the travel. The OIG learned that the DEA had been paying this employee a percentage of forfeited cash seized by the DEA office from passengers at the local airport when the seizure resulted from information the employee had provided to the DEA. The employee had received tens of thousands of dollars from the DEA over the past several years." In a statement, the DEA said its program is undergoing a review. "DEA is relentlessly committed to its core mission: saving American lives. We regularly review our enforcement efforts and programs to ensure that we are using resources in the best way to fulfill that mission. For the last several months, DEA has been conducting an internal review of its Transportation Interdiction Program, which has been suspended. That review is ongoing. The DEA is committed to executing our mission with integrity and professionalism at every turn." Even with the temporary suspension, the Institute for Justice said more needs to be done to stop the procedure. "It's critical that Congress act," Alban said. "To both make sure that this policy remains in place so that DEA doesn't prey on travelers. But it's also important that Congress act to fix these underlying incentives." The Fair Act is pending in the House, that would revise federal laws governing civil asset forfeiture. This includes eliminating the financial incentive that currently exists for law enforcement to seize property. The money would be sent to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury rather than directly to the Department of Justice. While many children have plenty of presents under the Christmas tree, that's not always the case for foster children. ABC Action News reporter Keely McCormick spoke to a 16-year-old who spent most of her life in and out of foster care about life in the system around Christmas. Foster child opens up about life in the system at Christmas Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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A Clearwater single-family home went up in flames early Tuesday morning, Clearwater Fire & Rescue said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said American Airlines issued a ground stop for all its flights on Christmas Eve morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration said American Airlines had canceled a requested ground stop for all its flights on Christmas Eve morning.

The jolliest of them all, Santa Claus, has started his long journey around the world and is making great time ahead of his arrival in the Tampa Bay area.