Your Florida Daily: Fire erupts at Tyreek Hill’s $6.9M mansion, ‘Sextortion’ at UCF on the rise

ORLANDO, Fla. – A large fire badly damaged the home of Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Flames and heavy smoke were spotted coming from the Broward County mansion Wednesday. Everyone made it out of the home safely but at this point there’s no word yet on what caused the fire.

Records show the mansion was purchased for nearly $6.9 million in the summer of 2022.

Hill’s agent said the home sustained smoke and water damage.

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Volusia officials resign due to new ‘Form 6′ financial disclosure requirements

In the first few days of 2024, we’re seeing several leaders in local cities leave their positions.

It’s all because of a form, called Form Six, now required by Florida law which forces them to release detailed financial information.

In Orange City, two elected officials resigned ahead of the Jan. 1 deadline.

Among them, former Vice Mayor Bill O’Connor, who also dropped plans to run for mayor.

He says the requirement to disclose all holdings worth more than $1,000 could pose a security risk.

“This is my hometown, I know these people and they know me, they know what I have and what I don’t have. They don’t need to know I have a watch that costs $1,200. They don’t need to know that,” O’Connor told News 6.

Two Daytona Beach Shores Commissioners have also resigned over Form Six.

The Florida Commission on Ethics says the new rules are designed to increase public trust.

Watch the full story here.

‘Sextortion’ at UCF on the rise

Law enforcement at Florida’s largest university is seeing an alarming rise in the “sextortion” of students on campus.

UCF Police and Victim Services say they worked 20 cases last semester involving students sending sexually compromising pictures of themselves over social media and perpetrators using the photos against the students to extort money.

Most of the cases involve male victims and some are sending the nude images to people they’ve never met.

Dr. Laura Valle is the manager of UCF Victim Services and says by the time students end up in her office, they’ve already sent the nude images and sent money — hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

“So a lot of what we see on our end is a student will receive a friend request on some kind of social media platform, most likely TikTok or Instagram, anywhere where the perpetrator can see a picture or video of the victim,” Valle said. “They’ll reach out and say, ‘Hey I came across your profile and you seem really cute.’”

“And then immediately after that picture is sent it turns into, ‘If you don’t send me $500 in the next 24 hours, I’m going to be sending this to your friends list,’” Valle said.

She warns to never pay a sextorter because the perpetrator will always demand more money and will often post the explicit pictures anyway.

But her most crucial piece of advice to students is, if they’re going to send explicit pics, never send anything in a photo that is personally identifiable, like your face.

Watch the full story here.

Random Florida Fact

Heading west along State Road 408 in Orlando, an F-4 Phantom flown in the Vietnam War sits in silence.

Colonel Joe Kittinger Park honors and recognizes the Central Florida Veterans that served our country and participated in the Vietnam War.

It was named for Col. Joseph Kittinger II, an Air Force fighter pilot with an incredible history. He was was shot down in Vietnam and survived 11 months as a prisoner of war.

Kittinger later became an extreme altitude parachute jumper and in 1960 took a record-setting leap from over 102,800 feet.

In 1984, he became the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone in a gas balloon.

Kittinger died at the age of 94 in December 2022 from lung cancer.