KWTX.com

Linda Weston

A West Palm Beach man and four others have been indicted in Philadelphia for beating and locking several mentally disabled people in basement dungeons in three states for years at a time to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars of Social \Security benefits.

The 196-count indictment accuses West Palm Beach's Nicklaus Woodard, 26, of using drugs, isolation, food deprivation and pistol-whipping to help keep prisoners subdued. The group ran the dungeons -- places where mentally challenged inmates were threatened, starved and drugged -- in Killeen, Texas; West Palm Beach; and Virginia.

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Florida Atlantic University is reporting that an armed intruder has been spotted on their Boca campus.

Early reports say the intruder is in the Arts & Letters building. 

He is described is a black male, about five-foot-ten, with a muscular build. 

He is reportedly wearing white pants and a white shirt.

Police have ordered the campus on lockdown.

Update [4:15 p.m.] The lockdown has been lifted and the all-clear given.

Update [4:00 p.m.]: The FAU Boca campus remains on lockdown. No injuries have been reported. According to the FAU student-run paper, police are now letting cars out of the campus without a search. No cars are being allowed to enter the campus.  

Update [2:20 p.m.]: The intruder was involved in an armed robbery at the Arts and Letters building on the Boca campus. The intruder reportedly placed a gun to a student's head and then fled on foot after robbing the victim.

The campus is still on lock down, while cars are being allowed to exit the school via the 10th and 13th street exits only. All vehicles are being checked before leaving campus.

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King_of_miami via Twitter

UPDATE 3:45 P.M.: 

Capt Engel says: "We found the girl. She had a copper-colored gun lookalike that's a lighter."

Did the police and school security overreact or not? "I think that they did what was right, because you don't know. If you saw this thing, it looks just like a gun. If she pulled that on me, I'd shoot her. It looks like a small gun, like a .22."

Will she be charged with anything? "There's some things you could charge her with -- disrupting a school function, things like that, but

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An outbreak of tuberculosis has spread from Jacksonville to as far south as Miami and was kept secret from the public, according to an expose by the Palm Beach Post.

The CDC team investigating the spread said it is the worst it's investigated in 20 years. At the time of their report in April, 13 deaths and 99 illnesses had been linked to the strain.

And yet, the public was never notified, and the information was kept from lawmakers. Rick Scott closed a state hospital specializing in the disease, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

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Wait, I have to obey federal law?

Gov. Rick Scott's campaign to purge "noncitizens" from the voter rolls less than three months before a primary election violates federal law, according to the Department of Justice.

In a letter sent yesterday to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, the chief of the DOJ's voting section gave Detzner six days to let the feds know whether he would stop the purge that has already affected hundreds of voters.

Scrubbing large numbers of potentially ineligible voters from the rolls less than 90 days before a federal election violates the National Voter Registration Act, the letter says. Also, under the Voting Rights Act, More »

A Broward County water plant serving Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, and Coconut Creek has tested positive for "fecal indicators," according to a statement just sent out by the county. The affected well has been shut down, but authorities are telling residents in those areas to not drink tap water without boiling it first:

Bring all water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using it. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. You may also use bottled water. Use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, preparing food, and washing dishes until further notice.

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A section of Fort Lauderdale International Airport Terminal 2 has been evacuated and HAZMAT investigators are on the scene, according to Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dani Moschella. At least three four victims have reported respiratory issues after being exposed to an "unknown substance/irritant." More to come.

Ferguson left after the state began investigating the allegations.

One year after Thompson Academy settled a federal lawsuit alleging a 14-year-old boy was twice sexually assaulted by a counselor at the lockup, the head of the Pembroke Pines juvenile detention center is facing scrutiny. Administrator Craig Ferguson has left his post amid allegations that he took residents home with him, bought them new clothes, and allowed them to shower at his house.

Thompson is an all-male, "moderate risk" detention center for teenagers, funded by the state and run by the for-profit company Youth Services International. Local attorney Michael Aaron Hoffman represents three former Thompson Academy employees -- Kamal Warren, Farouto Austin, and Marcus Blue. In March, Hoffman called the state Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to report a troubling incident described by the ex-employees.

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maverickshigh.com

A former special-education teacher at Mavericks High in Palm Springs has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging that the charter school is inflating enrollment records and fabricating grades.

Angenora Mechato's suit is the third whistle-blower case to be filed against Mavericks in Education Florida, a for-profit, West Palm Beach-based company that manages eight charter schools in the state. Two former employees at Mavericks High in Homestead made similar allegations last year, and their suits are still pending.

In her legal complaint, Mechato says she began working as a special-ed "lead teacher" and

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courtesy of scottpatrickwilson.com

Scott Wilson, 23, was left to drown after the crash.

​A Palm Beach County jury this afternoon found Wellington polo mogul John Goodman guilty of DUI manslaughter, failure to render aid, and vehicular homicide. The conviction comes two years after Goodman sped through a stop sign in Wellington, causing a car crash that killed 23-year-old Scott Wilson. (Read our feature story about the accident here.)

Multimillionaire Goodman prayed, hands clasped together before his head, right before the jury reentered the courtroom. He's still in court at the moment, as the lawyers are discussing the presentencing schedule.

Update: Goodman is about to be taken into custody, facing a possible 30 years in prison.

Update #2: Lili Wilson, Scott's mother, was in tears after the verdict. "Justice has been served," she said. "It's time for the healing process to begin."

Update #3: Not surprisingly, Goodman is going to appeal. His lawyer, famed defense attorney Roy Black, just issued this statement:

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