Articles by Stephany Matat and Curt Anderson

Anderson is legal affairs writer for AP.

Three Killed When Small Plane Crashes in Boca Raton Near Highway

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Three people were killed and one was injured when a small plane crashed Friday morning in South Florida near a major interstate highway and pushed a car onto railroad tracks, officials said. Boca Raton Fire …

Chilean Men Charged With Burglarizing Homes of Mahomes, Burrow, Other Players

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Seven men from Chile have been charged in Florida federal court with orchestrating burglaries at the homes of prominent professional athletes around the country, according to a criminal complaint. The FBI complaint doesn’t name the …

Tampa Bay Rays Say New St. Pete Stadium Unlikely to Be Ready for 2028 Season

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A combination of severe hurricane damage to Tropicana Field and political delays on financing means it is highly unlikely the Tampa Bay Rays’ planned new stadium will be ready for the 2028 season, if at …

St. Pete Approves New Rays Ballpark and Redevelopment of Current Site

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays are on track to get a long-sought new ballpark following a city council vote Thursday on a major redevelopment project that also guarantees the team will stay where it is for …

Florida Jury Says Chiquita Brands Must Pay $38M for Colombia Deaths

Banana giant Chiquita Brands must pay $38.3 million to 16 family members of people killed during Colombia’s long civil war by a violent right-wing paramilitary group funded by the company, a federal jury in Florida decided. The verdict Monday by …

St. Pete Looking at Downtown Transformation with Housing and New Rays Stadium

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The future of the Tampa Bay Rays is about to come into clearer focus as local officials begin public discussions over a planned $1.3 billion ballpark that would be the anchor of a much larger …

NTSB: Engine Oil Warnings Sounded Just Before Jet Crashed on Florida Interstate

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Moments before the deadly crash of a charter jet on a Florida highway, three warnings about oil pressure problems in its two engines sounded, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Tuesday. …

Cone of Uncertainty to Include Inland Areas, Where Storm Damage can Be Heavy

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The “cone of uncertainty” produced by the National Hurricane Center to forecast the location and ferocity of a tropical storm is getting an update this year to include predictions for inland areas, where wind and …

UN Report Details Extent of Climate Change on Gulf Coast

Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain on parts of the Texas coast in 2017. Then in 2020, ferocious winds from Hurricane Laura destroyed homes across coastal Louisiana. Hurricane Ida hit in 2021, leaving the entire city of …

Florida ‘Anti-Riot’ Law Challenged in Court Hearing

A new Florida law designed to deter violent public demonstrations is instead unconstitutionally chilling free speech and legitimate rights to protest, a federal judge was told Monday. Attorneys for several organizations challenging the law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis …