The Cooler

I have lots of news for you this morning including a couple videos where the bad guys lose after doing robberies. Enjoy.

A- Palm Beach Post: Rick Scott finds that the public sector is good for something after all.

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court sided narrowly Thursday with Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-ruled legislature, upholding a 2011 measure requiring government workers to contribute 3 percent of their pay to belong to the state pension fund.

[...]

By taking 3 percent from paychecks of the 623,000 workers in the Florida Retirement System, legislators were able to plug deep holes in public budgets the past two years. The money reduced pension payments normally made by state and local governments.

B- Palm Beach Post: Now that the election is over.

Gov. Rick Scott, who along with the Republican-controlled legislature was roundly criticized for electoral law changes that led to lines and chaos in last year’s general election, Thursday recommended that some of those changes be reversed.

Scott signed into law HB 1355, the 2011 bill that cut early voting days from 14 to 8 and included other controversial provisions. But Thursday he said county supervisors of elections should determine how many early voting days are needed in their locales and that as many 14 should be allowed.

[...]

Scott went one step farther Thursday by also saying that early voting be mandated on the last Sunday before Election Day and that it not be left up to individual supervisors. HB 1355 ended voting on that day, a change that Democrats said was aimed in particular at African American voters, who over the years have voted in large numbers on that Sunday. African Americans overwhelmingly support the Democratic Party.

C- South Florida Business Journal: Video, interview with Spirit Airlines CEO.

D- CBS4: Video, great video of Brinks guard getting robbed and shooting getaway vehicle.

E- CBS4: An "exclusive" that has been going on for years.

SOUTH MIAMI (CBS4) – Surveillance tape obtained by CBS4 shows a growing, serious problem in South Florida: predators who are targeting women at gas stations and looking for moments of distraction to take their purses and other valuables.

F- NBC Miami: Nice guy.

A Boca Raton man was arrested after he was captured on camera squeezing and smothering his roommate’s wailing, moaning and hissing cat, police said.

Jordan Bean, 25, was arrested Tuesday for animal cruelty, a third-degree felony, after his attacks on a 2-year-old cat named Chompers, Boca Raton Police said in a probable cause affidavit.

[...]

She watched Monday’s video after getting home from work, and saw Bean hunt Chompers in her bedroom, telling police that he wrapped the cat in a towel or blanket and violently shook, choked and slammed her on the bed for 10 to 15 minutes, the affidavit said.

Police said they watched the video, which shows the cat hissing, moaning and wailing at Bean as he searches for it in the bedroom, the affidavit said. Bean attempted to catch the cat in the closet, tried to trick Chompers into coming out, and could be heard “meowing while inside the closet mocking the cat,” the affidavit said.

G- NBC Miami: Life in South Florida.

Officers yelled "fire in the hole" before police detonated a grenade in a front yard in northeast Miami-Dade early Thursday evening.

H- NBC Miami: Finally.

A long-awaited bridge is about to open up for Miami-Dade drivers. The brand new two-lane connector will ease traffic on 836 eastbound to 826 northbound.

The bridge is expected to open by 5 a.m. Friday. Drivers will exit about a mile earlier than the old ramp on 836 to get to 826.

I- WPLG: Video, gas station shootout.

J- WPLG: But will it improve their on-time performance?

American Airlines unveiled a new logo on Thursday as it continues merger talks with U.S. Airways.

The release of the new logo is just one part of American's effort to re-brand the entire airline.

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