Mick's Morning News- Friday

Epic Universe Opens

(Orlando, FL) --Central Florida's newest theme park is open, but some hiccups remain. Universal Orlando Resorts' Epic Universe opened yesterday. Some fans lined up outside four hours before the gates opened. Once inside, lines formed outside the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride. At one point, the park reported the wait time was three hundred minutes. That was the exception, though, as most rides had waits of no more than thirty minutes. Limited ticket sales reduced the size of the crowd. One visitor tells the Orlando Sentinel the park seemed like it was only half-full. 

NOAA Reveals Above-Normal Hurricane Forecast

(Gretna, LA) -- Experts are predicting an above-average 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting a 60-percent chance of an "above-normal" hurricane season for the Gulf Coast. NOAA is calling for between 13-and-19 named storms, six-to-ten hurricanes, and three-to-five major hurricanes. The official start of the 2025 season is in ten-days.

New College Of Florida Threatened With Lawsuit

(Sarasota, FL)-- New College of Florida is accused of misspending money from donors. Four former members of the New College Foundation announced yesterday they may sue the school. They claim the school used over a million dollars in donations to fund President Richard Corcoran's salary and the school's athletics programs. Former foundation board member Ben Brown is one of those considering a lawsuit. He says the school is in a financial nightmare, and he's doing the responsible thing as a citizen by ringing the alarm bell. Brown tells the Tampa Bay Times he and others will file a lawsuit if the school doesn't release financial records by June 5th.      

HillsCo Man In Court After Shooting Sons

(Tampa, FL) -- A Hillsborough County man is accused of trying to kill his sons. Christopher Brown, Sr. of Ruskin was in court yesterday. He's charged with attempted murder. The sheriff's office says Brown and his three sons have had issues for years, and Brown confronted them Sunday. Brown allegedly hit one of his sons with a gun, the gun went off, and hit Brown's son's ear. More shots were fired, and two of Brown's other sons were hit. They were brought to the hospital, and deputies say while the boys were there, Brown called them and threatened he was going to finish the job. Fox 13 News reports a judge ordered Brown to be held without bond.   

Chesapeake Woman Trapped In Hotel For 42 Days Finally Outside

(Chesapeake, VA)-- A wheelchair-bound woman who had been stuck on the top floor of a Virginia hotel for 42 days can finally go outside. Joy Patton hadn't left the fourth floor of a Chesapeake extended stay hotel since the elevator broke down on April 10th. Parts for the broken elevator arrived this week and work to fix it was completed yesterday. Patton told WAVY-TV yesterday that she was thrilled to finally be outside again, saying she felt like she got her freedom back.

Today in History

1934, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot and killed by police in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

1873, Canada created the North West Mounted Police. They would later become known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.