A 49-year-old grandmother who wanted to become the first person to swim 103 miles from Cuba to the Florida Keys unassisted ended her bid early Sunday morning when a strong current in the shark-infested waters made it "impossible" for her to continue, her team said.
Endurance swimmer Penny Palfrey, 49, is vying to be the first person to swim the Florida straits without any assistance.
The sun rose over the Florida Straits Saturday with endurance swimmer Penny Palfrey covering half the estimated distance of her swim from Cuba to the United States, said a Florida meteorologist who is advising Palfrey's team.
It was more than 40 years ago, but Ken Nedimyer still remembers the first time he went diving in the Florida Keys.
Ken Nedimyer and his nonprofit are working to restore endangered coral reefs in the Florida Keys.
Severe weather has damaged more than 50 homes in several Florida towns, officials said, and schools in the Florida Keys were canceled Wednesday because of heavy rain and frequent lightning. No serious injuries were reported.
The 4-year-old girl sobbed as rescuers rushed her ashore. In the boat behind her, the faces of her fellow survivors were painted with "a thousand-yard stare," one witness said Monday.
After treading water for about 20 hours, a 4-year-old girl and three others were rescued Sunday by Coast Guard crews off the Florida Keys, though an 80-year-old woman drowned before she could be reached.
Volunteers and veterinarians caring round the clock for stranded pilot whales were buoyed Saturday evening by news that two were released off the Florida Keys.
Rescuers worked feverishly Friday to save some of the pilot whales who stranded themselves in shallow waters near the Florida Keys.
Volunteers work through the night to save beached pilot whales. WSVN reports
On a good day, John Davis will hike 15 miles. On the best days, he may only travel only two.
Conservationist John Davis talks about 'TrekEast,' his 5,000-mile journey up the east coast visiting the nations wildlands.
An eagle ray weighing as much as 300 pounds lands on top of a woman on a boat in the Florida Keys. WFOR reports.
A Florida woman said she went into "survival mode" when a huge eagle ray weighing as much as 300 pounds landed on top of her on a boat in the Florida Keys, throwing her to the deck and pinning her underneath it.
An eagle ray weighing as much as 300 pounds landed on top of a woman on a boat in the Florida Keys last week, throwing her to the deck and pinning her underneath it -- the "scariest thing" that's ever happened to her, she said.
Five months after the Deepwater Horizon explosion unleashed a torrent of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, a male dolphin washed up on Louisiana's Gulf Coast just barely alive.
Part all-American, part Cuban, part Alice in Wonderland. The Miami area is a psychedelic mix of serious business and eccentric pleasures.
Call it the latest piano bar, a large-scale mystery, or a whole new set of Florida Keys.
CNN's Shasta Darlington describes what is being done in Cuba to prevent weather problems of the past.
Tropical Storm Paula pushed across western Cuba Thursday evening with wind gusts just under hurricane strength in some places, bringing heavy rain and high winds to the island nation, forecasters said.
Two people are dead and 12 were missing Wednesday after a storm system dumped at least 8 inches of rain on portions of Jamaica, authorities said.
Lori Hyde was hunting for a unique vacation experience when her curiosity was piqued by Pretty Joe Rock, a tiny speck of land in the waters off Marathon in the Florida Keys with just enough room for a two-bedroom home and a few clusters of mangroves.
There's a best-case scenario for what might ultimately happen to all the oil being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, and it looks something like this:
The Gulf Coast oil spill has killed some birds, but others are being rescued and rehabilitated.
Tar balls found on Florida Keys beaches Monday and Tuesday are not from a massive oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The oil spill debate heats up on Capitol Hill as BP's president says the company will learn from the terrible event.
Tar balls found on a Florida Keys beach Monday, while not believed to be from a massive Gulf of Mexico spill, are nevertheless raising fears that oil will spread along the coastlines of Florida and beyond.
Natural forces, human effort and some good fortune have kept the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico from becoming an all-out environmental disaster, scientists say.
It's usually the bad guys who leave ransom notes, but in the Florida Keys, it was the cops who tried it -- and it helped them bag a suspected marijuana grower.
A tip from a television viewer led to the arrest of a Florida man accused of killing four of his family members on Thanksgiving Day, authorities said early Sunday.
In the early morning darkness of the Florida Keys, the low hum of the Mystic I is hardly enough to disturb the slumber of the tourists in their hotel rooms.
CNN photojournalist Jerry Simonson tells the story of a fisherman and his struggle to keep his profession afloat.
An annual family boating trip to the Florida Keys took a bloody and life-changing turn for Jordan Thomas.
The USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg was intentionally sunk in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Burmese pythons are making a land grab and there's only one way to stop them. CNN's John Zarrella reports.
Juan Lopez reads meters with one eye and looks for snakes with the other. Lopez is a member of the "Python Patrol," a team of utility workers, wildlife officials, park rangers and police trying to keep Burmese pythons from gaining a foothold in the Florida Keys.
The arctic air hovering over the southeastern United States on Wednesday will bring bitter cold by nightfall and a hard freeze warning for much of Florida that could kill crops and sensitive vegetation, forecasters said.
Multicultural, multilingual and multifaceted, there's more to Miami than meets the eye. Make the most of your stay with these tips.
We all know about the Confederate states leaving the Union. But that was far from the only secessionist movement in American history. Here are some rebellious regions you won't find in too many history books.
Like any sun-drenched beach paradise, Longboat Key offers water sports, biking and tennis, but the best way to enjoy the island may be by doing nothing at all.
When you spend $719,000 for a yacht, you expect the electrical system to work. What you don't expect is for an owner of the company that built the vessel to fix it personally. But that's exactly what Bill and Staci McLauchlan got.
Anticipating the possibility that Hurricane Ike might hit the Texas coast this weekend, the cities of Corpus Christi and Galveston warned residents Tuesday to plan.
Hurricane Ike made landfall on the north coast of eastern Cuba Sunday as a Category 3 storm that weather experts were calling a "major hurricane."
Ike strengthened to an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm Saturday near the Turks and Caicos Islands with winds near 135 mph, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist holds a news conference on Hurricane Ike preps.
Currents, tides and Tropical Storm Fay scattered the bodies over 30 miles along the Florida Keys in just a few days.
Tropical Storm Fay made landfall on Florida's southwest coast, bringing soaking rains and gusty winds but nothing like the destruction last seen in the area during a 2004 killer hurricane
Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in southwestern Florida early Tuesday, coming ashore at Cape Romano just south of Marco Island, the National Hurricane Center said.
Tropical Storm Fay moved over the western end of Cuba on Monday morning on its march toward the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Two years since a hurricane last lashed at Florida, many residents
were taking a wait-and-see attitude Monday as a strengthening Tropical
Storm Fay bore down on the Florida Keys and Gulf Coast
A woman who died after she was hit by a spotted eagle ray leaping from the water off the Florida Keys suffered "multiple skull fractures and direct brain injury," a medical examiner said Friday.
Florida officials investigate after a woman in a boat was hit in the head by an eagle ray and killed.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife official says an eagle ray leaped from the water, struck a woman on a boat and killed her.
Ray Davis, senior vice president of zoological operations at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, talks about a ray accident.
A woman on a boat died after a spotted eagle ray leaped from the water off the Florida Keys Thursday and struck her, officials said.
A woman sunbathing on a boat died after a stingray leaped from the water off the Florida Keys on Thursday and struck her, officials said.
If you've seen one tourism brochure that refers to itself as a "year-round" destination, you've probably seen them all.
Talk about sleeping with the fishes. A Florida-based company offers to enshrine your late loved ones by submerging their remains in a manmade ocean reef
At the historic Key West Cemetery, the remains of seven unknown souls were exhumed recently from a pauper's crypt.
Susan Candiotti reports on unidentified bodies being exhumed in Florida to extract DNA in hopes of solving cold cases.
Dreaming that falling real estate prices have finally brought a vacation home within reach? Could be.
Newlywed country singer Joe Nichols has entered rehab, his rep says.
A couple awakens to a tornado ripping the roof off of their home.
Joe Nichols made good on his song "I'll Wait For You" on Sunday, when he wed Heather Singleton - 12 years after they first met.
SI.com: Do the right thingupdated: Fri Apr 27 2007 15:45:00
DETROIT -- Jimmy Johnson, that old draftmaster, has some advice for his friend Al Davis.
As the highway jumps from Florida's mainland to the string of islands known as "the Keys," travelers immediately sense a difference. Giant red-and-white dive flags signal Key Largo's place as the sport-diving capital of the world. Souvenir shops peddle shells, coconuts and kitschy nautical collectibles. And funky (not in a good way) motels line both sides of the thoroughfare.
Money Magazine: More Cruise, Less Moneyupdated: Sun Oct 01 2006 00:01:00
EVERY FALL, cruise lines move their ships to warmer waters for the winter--and you can go along for the ride. These one-way repositioning, or "repo," cruises have unusual itineraries and more time ...
Hurricane watches have been dropped for most of Florida, as forecasters predicted that Tropical Storm Ernesto would not strengthen before landfall in the Florida Keys on Tuesday night, the National Hurricane Center said.
Tropical Storm Ernesto shifted toward the northwest Monday, putting it on a possible track for landfall in South Florida by Tuesday, forecasters said.
Ernesto weakened to a tropical storm Sunday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said, but forecasters warned the storm could regain hurricane status as it moved toward Cuba.
Many a traveler heading to the coast for a summer getaway has visions of heaping plates of fresh seafood. At these full-service fishmongers, sea creatures are on the brain all year long.
Hurricane Wilma battered Florida with heavy rain, widespread flooding and damaging winds for about six hours Monday before heading out to the Atlantic and regaining strength.
Hurricane Wilma strengthened as it picked up forward speed across the Gulf of Mexico with landfall expected along Florida's southwest coast early Monday, forecasters said.
Hurricane Wilma continued to pound Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Saturday night, as it edged toward the Yucatan Channel and the Gulf of Mexico en route to Florida.
Hurricane Wilma was "relentlessly pounding" Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula early Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said, packing 125 mph winds and dumping "tremendous" amounts of rain that may not let up in the popular tourist area for the next 24 hours.
Fortune: Island Shoppingupdated: Mon Oct 17 2005 00:01:00
ESCAPISTS DAYDREAM ABOUT them; James Bond's enemies use them for evildoing; most of us spend a week or two on one of them every chance we get. No wonder: Islands are both a natural fortress--especi...
Thousands of residents of the Florida Keys hunkered down as Hurricane Rita lashed the islands with blinding rain and winds Tuesday afternoon.
Gasoline prices fell slightly in the U.S., according to AAA's daily fuel gauge report Tuesday, not yet reflecting a spike in wholesale prices on fears over Tropical Storm Rita.
CNNMoney: Buying while waitingupdated: Tue Sep 20 2005 05:43:00
The Federal Reserve and oil prices could cause even more volatility in stocks than normal Tuesday, as investors carefully watch the most unpredictable Fed meeting in recent memory and a new hurricane threat to oil facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
While OPEC ministers met in Vienna Monday to discuss future production and price targets for oil, oil analysts and traders were instead focused on the waters off the Florida Keys.
Gasoline prices fell at filling stations around the U.S., according to the AAA's daily fuel report Monday, but the figures don't appear to reflect concerns about Tropical Storm Rita's possible impact on the Gulf Coast
CNNMoney: Oil drain?updated: Mon Sep 19 2005 05:41:00
A new rise in oil prices could give stocks a tough start to the week, as investors eyed both a meeting of OPEC ministers and a new storm that could be headed towards oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Gov. Jeb Bush ordered the Florida Keys evacuated in anticipation of Tropical Storm Rita, which was forecast to become a hurricane Tuesday morning.
Tropical Storm Rita gained strength off the Bahamas late Sunday, triggering hurricane warnings across the Bahamas, Cuba and southern Florida and prompting evacuations in the lower Florida Keys.
Hurricane Katrina will make a "big shift" to the west on its way across the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to reach dangerous Category 4 intensity before making landfall Monday afternoon in Mississippi or Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center said Friday.
A tropical storm watch was in effect Wednesday for the southeast Florida coast and parts of the Florida Keys, as a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas appeared to be picking up steam and approaching tropical storm strength.
Hurricane Dennis lashed Cuba with powerful winds, crashing waves and torrential rain Friday, killing at least 10 people as the storm churned its way across the length of the Caribbean nation.
Hurricane Dennis reached Category 4 strength Thursday night as it churned just off the coast of Cuba, while Florida officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of the lower Florida Keys.
In early March an estimated 80 rough-toothed dolphins stranded themselves in the shallows off Marathon in the Florida Keys.
Rescue workers and volunteers are working to keep nearly 50 dolphins alive after they beached themselves off the Florida Keys last week. Lloyd Brown, vice president of the Marine Mammal Conservancy, and Carrie Mackey, a volunteer helping with the rehabilitation of the dolphins, spoke with CNN's Soledad O'Brien on the rescue effort.
Why have one house when you can have two?
Category 5 hurricanes are monsters. From space, they appear to swallow islands and countries whole. On the ground, they are hell on Earth.
Hurricane Ivan, packing maximum sustained winds near 160 mph (260 kph), began moving away from western Cuba late Monday, toppling power lines, uprooting trees and causing extensive flooding.
Hurricane Ivan, blamed for at least 42 deaths in the Caribbean, pounded the Cayman Islands on Sunday and regained strength as it headed toward the western tip of Cuba.
Lethal Hurricane Ivan, an intense Category 4 storm, gained strength as it began to batter the Caribbean island of Jamaica on Friday night.
headlineupdated: Wed Sep 08 2004 12:22:00
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (AP) -- Emergency officials began the total evacuation of the Florida Keys on Thursday because Hurricane Ivan, which has killed 18, could hit the island chain as early as Sunday.
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