FDLE use genetic genealogy to find suspects in a case the same way a person fills in their family tree using an at-home DNA testing kit.

Detectives look for close relative matches using DNA from suspects found at a crime scene and DNA in the databases of GEDMatch and Family Tree DNA.

Then the team can investigate matches as potential leads.

Commissioner Richard Swearingen says they’ve been able to find suspects in a homicide and in a sexual assault cold case this way.

A House education panel on Thursday began delving into the issue of raising teacher pay, with a key lawmaker saying that while "everything is on the table," the panel still needs to figure out where the money would come from.

People who leave dogs outside and unattended during freezing temperatures or other severe weather could face up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $5,000, under a measure filed Wednesday in the Florida Senate.

The proposal (SB 522) by Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, would lead to first-degree misdemeanor charges for people who leave dogs outside, “regardless of whether the dog has access to an outdoor shelter,” when the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or the National Weather Service has issued a severe weather advisory or warning.

In a case stemming from a threat posted online after last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, an appeals court has rejected a challenge to the prosecution of a teen for disrupting his middle school.

The ruling Wednesday by the 3rd District Court of Appeal focused on whether the Miami Lakes Middle School student should have been shielded from prosecution because he posted the threat while off school grounds.

The teen, identified by the initials O.P-G, was found guilty of violating a law that seeks to prevent “disruption of a school function.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to propose sweeping legislation meant to address Florida's water woes in a press conference Wednesday outside a Jupiter sewage plant.

The proposals largely follow the recommendations of a panel of scientists DeSantis appointed in April - a sharp departure from his predecessor Rick Scott, who refused to meet with scientists. DeSantis said the broad measures will be aimed at the state’s biggest sources of pollution: farms, aging wastewater treatment plants, stormwater and treated human waste used as fertilizer.

Public health officials confirmed the 18^th case of dengue fever in Hillsborough County this year.

But this case is different- while the first 17 were travelers who got sick when they returned from a trip, this one contracted the fever from a mosquito locally.

More than $490,000 is being doled out to seven Florida counties, including Hillsborough and Pinellas, as part of a national effort to try to eradicate HIV and AIDS in the next 10 years.

The city of Miami wanted to have the capability to track the real-time locations of every scooter rider across the city until Uber and Lyft pushed back against the section of an agreement, a letter obtained by WLRN shows.

New state policies born out of the Parkland school shooting have drawn the scrutiny of two national nonprofit research organizations, which have argued in recent reports that the strategies could lead to violence or discrimination against students.

The Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., and the Southern Poverty Law Center released reports this month criticizing Florida’s response to the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.