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State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. plans to permanently close its Tampa operations center, cutting 59 jobs in the process. The insurer notified the state Department of Economic Opportunity on Sept. 27 of its plans. It will close the Tampa center and a portion of its Jacksonville operations center, according to the letter to the DEO. The Jacksonville closure will affect 100 jobs. The Tampa jobs affected include auto claims representatives, claim processors, claim service assistants and more.

A dispute over politics on Facebook went from virtual to physical this week when one man shot another in the thigh and buttocks, officials said. Authorities said Brian Sebring, 44, shot Alex Stephens, 46, after their political argument became too heated, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Sebring is a registered Democrat, the report said, while Stephens, a former felon, has no party affiliation, the report said, citing corrections records. "After receiving several explicit messages and threats, the defendant responded to the victim’s home to confront him in reference to the messages," a police official said, according to the Times.

Derisive monikers often ‘are code words for something else,’ Dem strategist says ANALYSIS — President Donald Trump had the friendly crowd at a simmer during a campaign rally Tuesday evening in Tampa, Florida. Then the showman in chief dropped two words that sent them into a raucous boil: “Crooked Hillary.” Trump had long pivoted away from the man he was ostensibly there to boost in his no-longer-long-shot bid for the Republican nomination for governor, Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis. Trump was touting Trump. Just before employing the derisive moniker that helped him vanquish his 2016 general election foe, Trump was boasting...

Here is President Donald Trump speaking at a huge rally in Tampa, Florida where he did his hilarious “acting Presidential” riff during his speech! The crowd loved it! Trump said, “It’s a lot easier to act Presidential than to do what I do.” He then did his imitation of what critics thinks it means to “act Presidential.” I think it is very “Presidential” to turn the nation’s Economy around; to rebuild America’s Military; to cut the taxes of hard-working Americans . . .

Tuesday, July 31, 2018: RSBN's Liz Willis, Tom O'Neill, Alyssa Ashe, Max Kleiber and Aaron Pangio will be on hand as President Donald J. Trump holds a campaign style rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall in Tampa, FL.

About thirty Trump rally attendees gathered in Tampa, Florida State Fairgrounds at about 2:00 AM in the morning to make certain they get right up front for the massive POTUS Trump political rally, this evening starting at 7:00 PM EST. As the morning daylight Sun rose over Tampa, the early crowd swelled to between 300-500 people. Should be a "BLOCKBUSTER" Trump Rally/Lovefest this evening in Tampa. Go Trumpie, Go, DeSantis, Go, MAGA!!!

2 TRUMP RALLIES!! Tues. July 31 - Tampa, Florida Free tickets Tampa: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/tampa-fl-2018/ … Thurs, August 2 - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Free tickets Wilkes-Barre: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/wilkes-barre-pa-august-2018/ …

A man visiting Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was injured by celebratory gunfire on Wednesday. According to Tampa police, 36-year-old Scott Deel of Florahome, Florida was walking inside the theme park with his wife when he felt pain in his shoulder around 10 p.m. His wife then noticed he was bleeding. Investigators said the source of the pain was a bullet, most likely a result of celebratory gunfire from outside the park, but they are unsure where. it occurred around the same times fireworks were set off at Busch Gardens. The park's security responded, and gave him first aid. Tampa firefighters...

A 21-month-old girl whose mother was killed while crossing a boulevard in Florida during an illegal street race has died, police said. The girl, Lillia Raubenolt, was being pushed in a stroller by her mother, Jessica Raubenolt, of Jeromesville, Ohio, across Bayshore Boulevard near West Knights Avenue in Tampa early Wednesday when they were mowed down by a black Ford Mustang that police said had been racing side by side on the roadway against a gold Nissan.Witnesses told the Tampa Bay Times the two cars reached speeds as high as 60 mph, but investigators were unable to confirm that. Other...

The lines stretched out the door this weekend at a gun show in Tampa, Fla., as thousands of potential buyers and the merely curious waited for their turn to browse booths stocked with the latest firearms, ammunition, customizable holsters and patriotic paraphernalia. Inside, parents pushed their babies in strollers past T-shirts emblazoned with phrases like “I study triggernometry.” A nonprofit group in one booth was raffling off a rifle to raise money to battle child and animal abuse. On large signs by the entrance, the National Rifle Association was offering refunds on the $11 admission if shoppers signed up for...

When Ben Vereen held auditions for “Hair” at a community theatre in Florida in 2015, the Tony winner said he wanted to break new ground with the rock musical. But in a sickening twist, several young actresses cast in the show claim the Broadway legend’s sexually abusive behavior nearly broke them. The women — part of the Venice Theatre production outside of Tampa — say Vereen forced unwanted kisses, hugged them aggressively, stripped naked during an acting exercise and made degrading comments about their weight, sex appeal and personal lives.

A shooting at a teen event in Tampa left two people dead, and authorities are still investigating the circumstances leading to the deaths. 25-year-old, 15-year-old killed Deputies: Security guards were shot at Security guards returned fire; have been identified Link: Go Fund Me page for Grant funeral Meanwhile, the families of the victims say things don't add up. The incident happened Monday night at The Club at 5809 North 50th St. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said Jyhaad Grant, 25, and Julissa Jackson, 15, were shot and killed by two security guards. Authorities have identified the security guards as Keyon...

The parents of the 24-year-old man accused of killing four people over a 51-day period of terror in Tampa say they will not testify against him even if it means they will face criminal charges.

The man suspected in the serial killings that terrorized a Tampa neighborhood for two months worked at a McDonald's -- and on the day of his arrest, brought a loaded gun to work in a McDonald's bag. Donaldson was arrested at the McDonald's after police received a tip about the gun -- the same gun that was used in the four killings, according to authorities. The suspect, who had previously attended St. John's University in New York City, reportedly brought a loaded .40-caliber Glock to the restaurant and asked a co-worker to hold it while he was getting a payday...

The man believed to be responsible for a series of shootings deaths in Tampa, Florida was detained Tuesday and police plan to charge him with four counts of first-degree murder, authorities said. Acting on a tip about someone with a gun, officers found the man, identified as Howell E. Donaldson III, 24, at a McDonald's in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood, Police Florida records indicated that Donaldson has no criminal past beyond a handful of traffic citations. He was arrested in New York City in May 2014 but details about the case were not immediately available. Donaldson graduated St. John's University...

After receiving more than 5,000 tips, Tampa police have arrested a suspect in the serial killings that have left the city in fear for the last 51 days.

A man has been arrested in connection with the recent string of homicides in Tampa's Seminole Heights neighborhood, police announced at press conference late Tuesday night. Tampa Police Department Chief Brian Dugan identified the suspect as Howell Donaldson III. "Chief Dugan credits arrest in series of Seminole Heights murders to hard work of officers, federal partners, and community members," the Tampa Police Department tweeted.

TAMPA — Police and federal agents with rifles checked car trunks, banged on doors and gathered forensic evidence in a Tampa neighborhood Tuesday as they hunted for the killer believed responsible for gunning down four people for no apparent reason in just more than a month. [snip] Residents and police have been on edge since Oct. 9, when 22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell was shot to death. Two days later, 32-year-old Monica Hoffa, was slain. And on Oct. 19, Anthony Naiboa, 20, was killed after taking the wrong bus home from his new job. [snip] All of October's victims were either getting...

TAMPA (CBSMiami/WTSP) — A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the recent Seminole Heights killings. Police in Tampa have called this individual, seen on surveillance video, as a person of interest following mysterious murders in the last few weeks. (Source: Tampa Police Dept.) The reward, offered by Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay and ATF, comes following the identification of a third victim. The latest victim was identified Anthony Naiboa, 20. A recent high school graduate who had autism. Investigators say Naiboa had accidentally taken the wrong bus home and ended up in the Seminole...

Robert E. Lee Elementary School is no more. The oldest magnet school in Hillsborough County, which some school board members were trying to rename as part of a nationwide movement to remove Confederate symbols, burned down on Tuesday night as hundreds of residents watched and children cried.