PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—A Florida circuit judge has ordered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to turn over records relating to the Sept. 14 migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard, an “exclusive haven” in Massachusetts. On Oct. 25, Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh gave the DeSantis administration 20 days to provide records requested by the Florida Center […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—A Federal Judge has dismissed another lawsuit challenging Florida’s parental rights law. The decision is the second time in about a month that a judge has declined to block the law, which protects the rights of parents to make decisions about the upbringing and control of their children, restricts school districts from withholding […]

After a video went viral of daycare workers allegedly scaring “unruly” children with a Scream mask, the staff have been charged with child abuse. Five workers at Lil’ Blessings Child Care and Learning Center in Mississippi were said to be involved in an attempt to “scare” children into submission, a whistleblower disclosed in a Facebook […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to criticism about his sending illegal aliens to affluent Martha’s Vineyard by calling out the cities that “beat their chest” proclaiming they’re a sanctuary for those crossing the border illegally. “All those people in DC and New York were beating their chests when Trump was president saying they were […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—For 630 days a warehouse in Lakeland has sat vacant—waiting on a shipment of drugs from Canada that never came. Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Aug. 31 that he “has waited long enough” and is filing suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to “put an end to” delays. DeSantis told a crowd […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended four Broward County School Board members on Aug. 26, following a grand jury recommendation citing “incompetence, neglect of duty, and misuse of authority.” A Statewide Grand Jury released a 122-page report accusing the four of a range of “inexcusable actions… and unacceptable behavior” relating to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis made good on his promise to take action against the environmental, social and corporate governance movement (ESG), which he called an “alarming trend” and a threat to the American economy. On Aug. 23  the governor, along with trustees of the State Board of Administration (SBA), passed a resolution directing Florida’s […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–A Florida child under the age of 4 has been identified as the first pediatric case of monkeypox in the state, according to The Florida Department of Health. The child tested positive in Martin County on Florida’s Treasure Coast, which has a total of six reported cases, according to the health department’s Reportable Disease […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—A circuit judge declared Florida’s 15-week abortion ban unconstitutional by “delaying it” and Gov. Ron DeSantis said the decision was not “unanticipated.” Leon Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled on June 30 that the new law signed by DeSantis in April was “unconstitutional” and that it was “temporarily delayed,” but would only take effect […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has doubled down on his policy of “no jabs for babies” at a press conference in Callahan on June 20. “We recommend against [vaccinating babies],” the governor told the crowd. “We are not going to have any program where we’re trying to jab six-month-old babies with mRNA. That’s just […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced on June 17 the arrest of 12 suspects—one a Disney employee—on charges of soliciting children online for “grooming” purposes. Judd identified them at a press conference, where he displayed their photos and gave a brief description of each suspect. One was a bus driver for Disney. “He was doing […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bipartisan-supported school safety bill on June 7 that addresses gun violence in schools. The bill, HB 1421, adds to Florida’s list of school safety reforms that have been legislated since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Florida Democrats had begun pushing for […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–A Federal Court of Appeals ruled on May 23 that it is unconstitutional for Florida to prohibit social media companies from banning politicians, handing Gov. Ron DeSantis a blow to combat online censorship. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 67-page opinion upheld an injunction blocking key parts of Florida’s social media law […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 95 on May 19, making it a capital offense for the drug dealer when a death results from the sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine and increasing penalties for trafficking. “Someone dealing fentanyl is murdering people and they are going to go to prison in the state of Florida […]

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the dissolution of the Walt Disney Company’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, a 25,000-acre self-governing area in the state’s Orange and Osceola counties. The lawsuit was filed by William Sanchez last week on behalf of three Orange and Osceola County residents. Sanchez is […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Stop Woke Act in Hialeah Gardens on April 22 to restrict ideological indoctrination and training in schools and in the workplace. HB 7, or what the Republican governor called the Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids Act, was passed during the 2022 legislative session and signed by the governor. […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a higher education reform bill on April 19 to hold faculty accountable, and ensure transparency with the curriculum. Under the new law, which takes effect July 1, tenured faculty will be reviewed every five years by a Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida, which will […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality Act, HB 5, into law on April 14, banning most abortions after 15 weeks. Exceptions to the law, which goes into effect on July 1, would be to save a mother’s life or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. “We are here […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 988—The No Patient Left Alone Act—on April 6, guaranteeing Floridians the “fundamental right” of in-person visits with family members and other loved ones in health care facilities—even during a crisis. The patient visitation rights measure requires that in-person visits be allowed in long-term care facilities, hospices, and […]

PUNTA GORDA, Florida–Governor Ron DeSantis on March 22, declared runner-up swimmer Sarasota native Emma Weyant the “rightful winner of the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s 500-yard Freestyle” over biological male Lia Thomas. Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania student, finished the event at 4:33:24, and the University of Virginia’s Weyant came in second with a time […]

PUNTA GORDA, Florida–The Florida Senate voted on March 8 to advance the Parental Rights in Education bill, which limits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. The next stop is the governor’s desk. Although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not said he would sign the bill, he has signaled approval by saying he thinks […]

PUNTA GORDA, Florida–Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took to Twitter on March 3 to announce that his wife has been declared cancer-free. In October, DeSantis announced that his wife, Casey DeSantis, was diagnosed with breast cancer.  By January she had completed her chemotherapy treatments, and announced during the state of the state address on Jan. 11 […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took on Feb. 28 rejected a request from the Biden administration to deploy the Florida National Guard to Washington for the State of the Union address on March 1. “I have rejected this request,” DeSantis wrote on Twitter. “There will be no Florida National Guard sent to D.C. for […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–This weekend is expected to be one of the coldest in four years for South Floridians, prompting the National Weather Service in Miami to issue a Falling Iguana Alert via Twitter. Jan. 30 is predicted to be the coldest day locally since 2018. South Florida occasionally sees temperatures dip into the 30s and […]

The federal government slashed in half the number of dozes of the monoclonal antibodies therapy shipped to Florida from 30,000 to 15,000 this week, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). DeSantis said the 15,000 dozen received would be “immediately utilized to support new monoclonal antibody sites.” “But for the federal government’s decision to restrict supply […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Jan. 3 that the federal government had relaxed its policies on limiting monoclonal antibody treatment drugs, paving the way for the state to receive more doses. DeSantis said as soon as more doses were released he would be setting up to 10 new public infusion centers in southern and […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Dec. 2 that he will be reinstating the Florida State Guard and will be seeking $3.5 million in the budget to do it. The state guard was formed in 1941 and filled in for the Florida National Guard troops when they were deployed during World War II. In the […]

BRANDON, Fla.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four bills into law on Thursday that will diminish the impact of federal CCP virus vaccine mandates in Florida. Under one of the new laws, Florida businesses that mandate COVID-19 vaccines will be required to offer exemptions for medical and religious reasons as well as to pregnant women and […]

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—Mere hours after a Florida district court judge ruled to allow schools to mandate face coverings, the state filed an emergency motion asking an appeals court to reinstate the stay on Wednesday night. In the motion, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ team is asking that a hold be put on the Aug. 27 ruling by […]