Florida's back-to-school sales tax holiday is kicking off and this time it's going to last longer.

Starting early Friday morning, shoppers won't have to pay state and local sales taxes on clothing worth $100 or less. Sales taxes are also waived for school supplies worth $15 or less. The tax break is not allowed at theme parks.

Shoppers also do not have to pay the state's 6 percent sales tax on the first $750 of any computer purchase. The exemption also applies to computer accessories.

The sales tax holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ends on Aug. 16.

This year state legislators extended the length of the tax holiday. This means that shoppers will be able to take advantage of the tax break over two weekends.

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The Monroe County Sheriff's Office and Crime Stoppers are offering a combined reward of $5,000 for information abut a recent slew of marine thefts in the area.

"We really need some help on these cases," said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. "We are doing everything we can possibly do, but we really need people to come forward and help us nail these criminals."

According to deputies, thieves are targeting boats in canals that are parked in residential neighborhoods, boats that are parked on the street on trailers and boats that are stored at marinas.

Detectives said the thieves are taking high-end electronics and lower units from the vessels.

Below is a list of thefts reported to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office from this week.

·         A boat docked behind a home on 5th Avenue Gulf was burglarized between Sunday night and Monday morning; fishing equipment and a high-end Garmin GPS were stolen from a 31-foot Contender.

·         A boat docked behind a home on Yellowtail Drive in Marathon was burglarized between Sunday night and Monday morning. A Garmin GPS unit was stolen from the center console of the vessel.

·         A 26-foot Sailfish center console parked on a trailer next to a house on Channel Drive in Marathon was burglarized between 1:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Monday. A Garmin GPS was stolen along with rods and reels and a tackle box.

·         A vessel docked behind a home on Corte Del Sol in Marathon was burglarized between Sunday night and Monday morning. A GPS system and three engine gauges were taken from the center console of the boat.

·         A vessel docked at a home on Grouper Drive in Marathon was burglarized between Sunday night and Monday morning. A GPS system was taken from the vessel.

·         A 30-foot Sailfish boat was burglarized while docked behind a home on Treasure Road in Marathon between Sunday night and Monday evening. A GPS and radar unit were taken from the center console.

·         Between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, a 28-foot Mako docked at the Sunshine Key Marina was burglarized. A Garmin GPS was stolen from the boat.

·         Between Monday night and Tuesday morning, two lower units were taken from a 25-foot Mako boat docked at the Sunshine Key marina.

"There are people out there who know what is going on. They know who is responsible. We want those people to pick up the phone and report it. You don't have to tell us who you are. And we will pay you well for your information," said Ramsay. "It is a win-win for the person who calls. They can make a substantial sum of money and the suspect or suspects they report will never know who turned them in."

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call detectives at 305-481-8060. Anonymous tips can also be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-346-TIPS.

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Police are searching for two men who they said robbed a Walgreens in Miami Beach early Thursday morning.

The incident was reported about 1:30 a.m. at 6700 Collins Ave.

According to a police report, one of the men was using a Redbox machine, perhaps to distract an employee, while a second man approached a cashier from behind, held a firearm under his T-shirt and told the cashier to "step back."

Police said the robber tore the cash register drawer from the till, and both men fled through the front door of the store.

A security guard at the Deauville Beach Resort told officers that he saw both men run out of the store and get into an older-model four-door white Pontiac that was parked at a Budget car rental business.

Police said the thief who was using the Redbox appeared to be a Hispanic man with a full black beard. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweater, a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

The store employee was not able to provide a description of the man who took the cash drawer.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

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A Coconut Creek woman on probation for grand theft was arrested last month after she was caught stealing pants from a Walmart in Margate, police said.

Margate police said Rachel Lepinski, 35, tried to conceal three pairs of pants in a green duffel bag July 25 in Walmart's infant department.

According to the police affidavit, Lepinski purchased a beverage and then left the store without paying for the pants in the duffel bag. She was detained until police arrived.

Police said they found two pairs of men's Wrangler jeans and one pair of George dress pants, worth about $70.

It was later discovered that Lepinski was on felony probation for grand theft.

Lepinski faces probation violation charges in addition to the theft charge.

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For the second time in three days, a prisoner has escaped from a work release program in Palm Beach County.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said Antwane Anglin escaped shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Anglin, 27, was serving time for several drug-related charges from Monroe County in 2013. He had been incarcerated since last November.

Two days earlier, Philip Peletz walked away from a work detail on Okeechobee Boulevard. Peletz, 53, was an inmate at the Loxahatchee Road Prison.

It was not immediately known if the two escapes were connected.

The FDLE is leading the search for Anglin.

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In her own words, a woman from Miami-Dade County is speaking about the horror she endured when she was nearly kidnapped and sexually assaulted earlier this week.

Miami-Dade police said the incident happened between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. Monday in the area of Northeast 115th Street and West Dixie Highway.

Police said the victim was walking home when a man approached her from behind, knocked her down and dragged her behind a business.

"I knew right then I was going to die or he was going to really hurt me," the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said. "In my mind, I kept saying he is going to rape and kill me."

The woman said she is speaking publicly in hopes that it will help police catch her attacker.

"He started hitting, he slapped me on the floor," she said. "He started dragging me back there. I was screaming. I was trying to hit him."

The 30-year-old woman said her bicycle had a flat tire so she had to walk it home. She said her attacker was able to drag her away from the sidewalk but said she was eventually able to fight him off and run away.

"I was able to take him off my back. It was a pure struggle. I kept screaming and screaming," the woman said.

The victim helped police create a sketch of her attacker, who is described as a black man who is in his 20s and is about 5 feet 7 inches tall with a thin build. Police said he had thick eyebrows and was wearing a dark skully hat at the time of the attack.

"I was begging him, 'Please don't do this. Stop,'" she said. "When I was saying that, his adrenalin was getting stronger, and I was like, damn, this isn't going to work. He doesn't care."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

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Dogs and drones are working together to stop a fast-spreading fungus that could take over South Florida's avocado groves.

Detectives are asking for the public's help in finding the person responsible for the killing of a woman in Miami last November.

Police said Arelys Gomez, 48, was found suffering from several gunshot wounds about 8:30 p.m. Nov. 22 outside her home at 150 SW 52nd Place.

According to detectives, Gomez was standing outside her home alone when a man tried to rob her. Gomez was shot several times before the man fled the area.

Police said surveillance video from a nearby business showed a slim, hooded man leaving the area about the same times of the shooting.

Gomez, who is survived by her two children, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where she was pronounced dead.

"We have been working the case since that happened," Miami police Detective Daniel Valladares told Local 10 News. "We were trying to identify the suspect through police investigative techniques, but unfortunately we have not been able to do so. So that's why I need everybody to take a second of their day, take a look at this video and see if they know this person."

Valladares said Gomez was robbed, but he wouldn't say what was taken.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Miami Police Department's homicide unit at 305-603-6350 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

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The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted a woman from a cruise ship near Turks and Caicos Thursday morning.

Officials said the woman was removed from the Norwegian Getaway shortly after 11 a.m. after she began suffering symptoms of pneumonia.

Officials said a Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and recommended the woman be evacuated from the ship.

The woman was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Turks and Caicos. Her condition was not immediately released.

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A man accused of fleeing from police while driving with three children and a loaded gun in his vehicle faced a judge on Friday.

Lawrence Smith, 29, is facing felony weapon and child neglect charges.

According to police, officers tried to pull over the van that Smith was driving on Thursday, because it fit the description of a vehicle used in a recent robbery. Police said he sped off, drove against oncoming traffic and eventually crashed into a pharmacy at 4310 NW Seventh Ave in Miami.

Sky 10 was above the scene as the van's front end was pressed against the wall of the building. The vehicle did not enter the store, although a large hole could be seen near the entrance.

Police said they found three children sitting in the back of the van after the crash, and a loaded gun that was hidden between them.

"It could have been a lot worse," the children's aunt, Jameelah Ahmad, told Local 10 News. "I was very surprised that they were buckled in… they are a little shaken up but that's about it."

According to an arrest report, Smith told police that he fled from officers because he doesn't have a valid driver's license, his vehicle tag was expired and he had recently been arrested on a robbery charge.

Smith was immediately taken into custody and has been placed on house arrest.

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A Miami-Dade police officer pleaded guilty Friday to his role in a wire fraud scheme involving a series of credit repair businesses.

George Price, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Price is the third police officer in South Florida to be indicted in the case. Miami-Dade police Officer Rafael Duran was arrested in connection with the case on April 2, and 15-year Miami Police Department veteran Lazaro Fernandez pleaded guilty in federal court in September to fraud for his role in the scam.

Duran has pleaded not guilty to a fraud charge related to the case that involves a total of 130 bogus police reports, according to federal court papers.

"This unacceptable behavior only serves to tarnish the reputation of the overwhelming majority of police officers who serve their communities faithfully and well every day," George L. Piro, special agent in charge, FBI Miami said.   

Prosecutors said the defendants provided false police reports to people operating credit repair businesses, indicating that their customers, who were looking to clean up their credit records, had been victims of identity theft.

Prosecutors said Price and Duran would receive payments from their alleged co-conspirators for writing up the false police reports.

"Law enforcement officers have a duty to protect and serve the public.  Instead, George Price betrayed his badge in order to enrich himself unjustly.  Our office remains vigilant in its efforts to track down and root out official corruption," U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer said.

Price faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced. Price has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of his case.

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The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday repatriated 36 migrants to Bahia de Cabanas, Cuba.

The repatriation came after four separate interdictions at sea in the span of a week, beginning Aug. 1.

Officials said the migrants attempted to illegally enter the United States on "unseaworthy vessels," commonly referred to as rustics or chugs.

"Along with our Department of Homeland Security and international partners, the Coast Guard continues to robustly patrol the Florida Straits and Caribbean sea to prevent migrants from taking the perilous and illegal maritime journey to the United States. Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, we will seek to quickly repatriate illegal migrants to their respective countries," said Capt Mark Gordon, chief of response enforcement for the Coast Guard 7th District.

Officials said all the migrants received food, water, shelter and basic medical attention aboard the cutter.

Since Oct. 1, 2014, more than 3,400 Cuban migrants have attempted to cross the sea to enter the U.S., according to the Coast Guard.

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Authorities say thieves are targeting airbags in hopes of making big bucks.

Police are searching for a man they said threatened a woman with a knife, forced her into an abandoned building and then sexually assaulted her.

The attack was reported about 8:30 p.m. Monday in the 600 block of Northwest Third Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

Police said the victim was walking in the area when she was approached by a black man. They said the man threatened the woman with a knife and forced her into an abandoned building near the South Florida Montessori Academy, where she was sexually assaulted.

Police said the man fled the area while the victim sought out help and called police.

The victim was taken to Broward Health Medical Center and the Nancy J. Cotterman Sexual Assault Treatment Center for a medical evaluation.

The attacker is described as a black man who is about 40 years old and is about 5 feet 10 inches tall. The victim said he had two gold teeth and a scar under his left eye.

The victim told detectives that she knows the man only as "Chris."

"She was able to provide a good physical description of the suspect. Additionally, she was able to provide some sort of a name that detectives are following up on," Detective Keven Dupree said. "I'm not sure if she actually knew him, but she knew a first name or a name that he at least uses."

Anyone who knows the identity of the man is asked to call Detective Duval Madrigal at 954-828-6630 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. A reward of up to $3,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

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Yellow Cab President John Camillo runs the biggest taxi company in Broward and he might just be Uber's biggest obstacle to operate there.

It was Camillo, along with his boss, taxi mogul Jesse Gaddis, who played a key role in getting a new ordinance passed by the county commission that prompted the popular ride-sharing service to abandon the county at the end of last month.

"Are you trying to drive Uber out of Broward County?" Local 10 News investigative reporter Bob Norman asked Camillo.

"No," he answered. "What we proposed was a set of regulations we felt was appropriate."

Among those regulations was a stricter background check for drivers than Broward has ever had, as well as a demand that those drivers obtain chauffeur's licenses in the county.

Yellow Cab and Gaddis have been big campaign contributors to the commission campaigns and hired four well-connected lobbyists, Bernie Friedman, George Platt, Judy Stern and former commissioner (and U.S. senator) Jim Scott, to help push their agenda.

But Camillo said it's the cab industry that is at an unfair competitive disadvantage in large part because cab rates are set by the county. He said that despite the campaign contributions and lobbyists, the commission rejected his proposal to extend those set rates to his competition.

"We wanted to have a floor on what Uber could charge that was comparable to what the county commission required us to charge so Uber couldn't engage in predatory process, undercutting us," he said. "They rejected the limitation on vehicles. They rejected the price control."

"You're saying the idea that Jesse Gaddis controls the commission isn't true?" asked Norman.

"No, it isn't true," Camillo said.

But commissioners did pass an FBI-related Level 2 background check that Uber claims is onerous.

Camillo claims that, however, is a "straw man" argument and that what really concerns Uber is any provision that would put the names of their drivers on a public list.

He cites an email sent to County Commissioner Beam Furr in which he explains the company's concerns about insurance carried by Uber drivers, many of whom presumably don't inform auto insurance companies that they are using their cars to transport people – something that would substantially raise their rates.  

"As for the chauffeur's license, Uber is adamant that they want to keep the names of their drivers exempt from public records request," wrote Furr. "Part of this is for competitive reasons, and part of it is because these ridesharing companies are afraid that third parties will contact the personal insurance carriers of their drivers. Though they might not come out and say it, Uber and Lyft know that you can be thrown off your personal insurance if Geico, All State or carriers discover that you have been using your vehicle for ridesharing."

When Norman asked Camillo if the cab industry is a "dinosaur that is trying to kill off the new better species," Camillo answered, "If the playing field was equal then I think competition on the street is something we would have to live with. And if we can't compete then we're a dinosaur and we shouldn't be around."

The commission, under pressure from multitudes of Uber customers, is meeting Tuesday to try to iron out a compromise that will bring Uber back to the county.

A man who escaped from a Georgia prison in 1981 assumed a new identity in South Florida, where he ran his own business and avoided any trouble with the law -- that is, until he was caught Wednesday, Local 10 News has learned.

U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden said Willie Lee Austin, 60, was arrested at his Pompano Beach business, L.J. Office Furniture Installers Inc. on McNab Road.

"He had a good run. But the downside to that run is that now he has to go back to Georgia and serve more time in prison," Golden said.

Golden said Austin had been a fugitive for 34 years until U.S. marshals in Georgia learned that Austin might be living in South Florida under an alias, so marshals began comparing driver's license photographs to Austin's 1981 booking photo.

That led marshals to an apartment on Northwest 36th Street in Lauderdale Lakes, where Austin, who was 26 at the time of his escape, had been living under the assumed identity of "Larry Jackson," Golden said.

"It seems as though he came to Florida and each stole somebody's ID or created a fake identification and obtained a Florida driver's license," Golden told Local 10 News crime specialist John Turchin.

Records obtained by Local 10 show that Austin's phony persona was a registered voter -- his party affiliation lists him as a Democrat -- and had been living in Broward County since at least 1985. He also held a state fishing license and had a local cellphone and home phone.

A check of the Florida Department of State Division of Corporation records lists Larry Jackson as president of L.J. Office Furniture Installers Inc. The business was filed with the state in 2005.

Golden said Austin initially claimed to be Jackson when marshals confronted him outside his business, but Austin soon confessed, saying, "You got me."

People who knew Austin were shocked by the news.

"Not in my wildest dreams would I think he was a bank robber," Dawn Boulis said. "I mean, he's a great guy. He would give you the shirt off his back to help you."

Austin apparently never changed his birthday when he assumed his new identity, another clue that led marshals to him, Golden said.

"He created a new identification -- a new identity -- and became that person," Golden said.

Austin was serving a 15-year sentence for armed robbery when he escaped from Central State Prison in Georgia.

Broward County jail records show that Austin was being held without bond Friday. Golden said Austin will be extradited back to Georgia, where he'll likely face additional charges related to his escape.

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A second person has been arrested after a 2-year-old girl was kidnapped by her mother in Sunrise, police said.

Carlos Lesters III, 34, was arrested Friday on charges of kidnapping, interference with custody and concealing a minor contrary to a court order.

According to detectives, the toddler's mother, Megan Everett, 23, kidnapped her daughter, Lilly, in May 2014 from the child’s father’s home during an ongoing custody battle.

FBI spokesman Jim Marshall said Everett was taken into custody without incident Monday morning in Palatka, about 30 miles southwest of St. Augustine.

Marshall said an anonymous tip led investigators to Everett after the abduction was featured Sunday on CNN's "The Hunt" with John Walsh.

"When I first heard that it's possible that they found her, I was shocked," Lilly’s father, Robert Baumann, said Monday.

Baumann has since been reunited with his daughter.

Meanwhile, Everett is being held by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and is expected to be returned to Broward County.

Police said Lesters visited Everett and Lilly on multiple occasions and failed to report her whereabouts to police.

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A small plane made an emergency landing Friday afternoon at North Perry General Aviation Airport in Pembroke Pines.

Sky 10 was above the scene about 3:30 p.m. as fire-rescue units surrounded the plane.

Broward County Aviation Department spokesman Greg Meyer said the plane's landing gear collapsed upon impact with the runway.

"It made a noise and like a big scratch on the floor. It could have caught fire," Domingo Bello, who witnessed the landing, said.

The pilot and another person were on board at the time.

A Pembroke Pines Fire Department representative said no one was injured in the incident.

The plane was registered to Heart of Virginia Aviation in Ashland, Virginia.

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While some celebrities go all out for their weddings, others slipped away to tie the knot in private, including reported newlyweds Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux. Join us for a look at them and other celebrity marriages that began beyond the prying eyes of the paparazzi.

Here's a helpful list compiled by CNN.com for airline passengers on how to survive longer flights.