Your Florida Daily: Child labor law protections on chopping block, Luke Combs makes amends to Florida fan

Plus, April Fools joke led to founding of Hooters chain

Left: Florida Rep. Linda Chaney makes a point during a Local Administration and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee hearing during a legislative session, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) Right: Luke Combs poses with the award for single of the year for "Fast Car in the press room at the 57th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) (Associated Press)

ORLANDO, Fla. – State lawmakers are considering a major overhaul of Florida’s child labor laws, but not everyone is for the change.

House Bill 49 passed a subcommittee in Tallahassee on Wednesday.

While it still has a ways to go, if passed, it would remove current state law that says minors ages 16 and 17 can’t work more than 30 hours a week while school is in session.

The bill would also allow them to work overnight as well as more than six days a week.

The bill does specify teens can’t be in hazardous jobs, however, there’s another measure in the Senate that would allow them to work on roofs, scaffolding and construction sites.

Nasty weekend on tap for Florida

Florida is about to get some nasty weather.

A strong pressure gradient continues to hold across the Orlando area, which will keep things very windy with gusts up to 35-40 mph.

This is expected to bring dangerous conditions at the beach, where a high surf advisory and coast flood warnings are in place.

In South Florida, NOAA forecasters say a stationary front and an approaching low-pressure system will bring periods of heavy rain and possible thunderstorms starting today and lasting into the weekend.

This means there’s an increased chance for flash flooding from Miami through Fort Lauderdale and the West Palm Beach area.

On Saturday, most of the state will be drenched in heavy rain with the arrival of the low-pressure system from the Gulf of Mexico.

FILE - Luke Combs performs during CMA Fest 2022, June 11, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Combs is making amends to a disabled Florida woman who sells tumblers online after she was ordered to pay him $250,000 when she got snared in a crackdown his lawyers launched against companies that sell unauthorized merchandise with his image or name on it. In an Instagram video posted Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, Combs said he told his attorneys to remove Nicol Harness from a lawsuit they filed in an Illinois federal court and that he was sending her $11,000. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File) (2022 Invision)

Luke Combs helps fan who almost owed him $250,000 for selling unauthorized merchandise

Country music star Luke Combs is making amends to a Florida fan who sold homemade tumblers and T-shirts with his name and likeness online.

Nicol Harness was ordered to pay the singer $250,000 when she got caught up in a crackdown Combs’ lawyers launched against companies selling counterfeit merchandise.

Court records show Harness made about $360 profit from the merch, according to the Associated Press.

But in an Instagram video, Combs said the situation made him “absolutely sick to (his) stomach” and told his attorneys to remove Harness from the lawsuit, adding he only meant to target large corporations making millions off his image.

He also said he was sending her $11,000 to her ongoing struggle with congestive heart failure.

The story first came to light after her story was picked up by a Tampa TV station.

She told WFLA she was surprised when Combs called and told her he was stepping in to help.

Now, the three-time Grammy nominee has announced his official online store is selling new tumblers with all proceeds going toward a fund to help cover her medical bills.

The 'Hooters Six" along with some of the first employees of the worldwide restaurant chain. (Courtesy of Ed Droste)

Random Florida Fact

Hooters, the sports bar known for its chicken wings and scantily clad waitresses, was incorporated in Clearwater, Florida, as a joke on April Fools Day in 1983.

Six businessmen with absolutely no previous restaurant experience got together and decided to open their first Hooters in October of that year.

The first Hooters Calendar debuted in 1986 with its soon-to-be-famous feature girl, Lynne Austin a young model from Pant City, Florida.

Forty years later, the brand remains strong. Make to sure subscribe to Your Florida Daily to hear all-new special episodes starting Tuesday, Dec. 26, including the founding of Hooters!


About the Author

Katrina Scales is a producer for the News 6+ Takeover at 3:30 p.m. She also writes and voices the podcast Your Florida Daily. Katrina was born and raised in Brevard County and started her journalism career in radio before joining News 6 in June 2021.

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