Your Florida Daily: Ground stop in paradise

ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s Tuesday, August 16, and here’s the latest edition of Your Florida Daily.

Florida Police Officer Shot

A Miami-Dade police officer is fighting for life after being shot Monday night. Police say the officer was responding to a burglary call in a neighborhood when there was a car chase and a shootout.

The suspect was killed and the officer was rushed to the hospital.

Local TV news video showed a line of police cars outside the trauma center where the officer was being treated. Police have not released the name of the officer or the suspect.

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Accidental Drug Bust

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says deputies arrested a teen who accidentally called a county commissioner to try to sell drugs.

Commission Chair Joe Mullins tells News 6 he got the call Sunday night. As someone who recovered from cocaine and alcohol for 10 years, Mullins said he knew what was happening.

“The guy said, ‘Hey, do you still need what you needed the other day?’ And I went, ‘What are you talking about?’ And it really threw me off,” Mullins told News 6. “I said, ‘I think you have the wrong number.’ He said, ‘You don’t need the 8 ball?’”

Deputies asked Mullins to set up a fake drug deal. Investigators say 18-year-old Jack Fisher showed up, expecting to sell cocaine but instead met detectives.

The sheriff’s office also said the teen did not have cocaine but actually 3.17 grams of fentanyl.

Ground Stop In Paradise

Flights in and out of Key West came to a halt Monday afternoon when the island’s airport shut down its only runway due to an “asphalt failure.”

Crews spent the night repairing the tarmac. As some travelers may already know, crossing the tarmac is the only way to get on or off a plane in Key West. But that could soon change.

Monroe County leaders are planning an $80 million expansion that will add glass jetways that connect the plane to the airport.

A Completely Random Florida Fact

Yeehaw Junction. It’s located where the Florida Turnpike meets U.S. 441 in middle-of-nowhere Osceola County.

In 2002, the Pentagon revealed Yeehaw Junction was a secret test site for biological warfare. Yes, you read that right.

In 1968, during the height of the Cold War, wheat rust was sprayed over fields four times in hopes of developing a fungus strong enough to kill wheat crops of an enemy during warfare.

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