Category Archives: Florida

Ron DeSantis campaign suffers another blow after debate memos published

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Rightwing Florida governor’s talking points for the first Republican debate include defending Trump and attacking Biden

Seeking to resurrect his flagging US presidential campaign, Ron DeSantis suffered a major embarrassment when memos about his preparation for the first Republican debate were reported by the New York Times.

Including advice not to attack the clear frontrunner, Donald Trump, the memos to the rightwing Florida governor ahead of the debate in Milwaukee next Wednesday were posted online by a consulting firm owned by Jeff Roe, chief strategist to Never Back Down, a Super Pac backing DeSantis.

Attack Joe Biden and the media 3-5 times.

State [DeSantis’s] positive vision 2-3 times.

Hammer Vivek Ramaswamy in a response.

Defend Donald Trump in absentia in response to a Chris Christie attack.

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Mar-a-Lago worker’s lawyer has conflicts of interest in documents case, prosecutors say

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Attorney for Carlos De Oliveira also represents witnesses who could testify against him, according to special counsel’s office

Special counsel prosecutors asked on Wednesday for a hearing to inform the Mar-a-Lago club’s maintenance chief, charged with helping Donald Trump to obstruct the government’s attempt to retrieve the classified documents at the property, that his lawyer might be hamstrung at trial due to potential conflicts of interest.

The issue, according to prosecutors, is that De Oliveira’s lawyer, John Irving, represents three other witnesses who provided incriminating evidence against Carlos De Oliveira and could be called to testify against him at trial.

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Prosecutor suspended by DeSantis says he’s a ‘weak dictator’ seeking attention

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Monique Worrell, second Democratic prosecutor DeSantis has removed, says elected officials are being suspended ‘by whim of the governor’

Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, suspended the top prosecutor in Orlando on Wednesday, claiming “dereliction of duty” on crime. In return, the prosecutor said DeSantis, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, was a “weak dictator” acting undemocratically and for political reasons.

Monique Worrell, the ninth judicial circuit state attorney, is the second Democratic prosecutor DeSantis has removed.

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Florida man survives being stranded at sea for over 24 hours

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Charles Gregory rescued by US Coast Guard after enduring jellyfish stings as sinking boat filled with water

A Florida man survived after being stranded at sea for more than 24 hours while enduring a blazing sun and stings from jellyfish as his sinking boat filled with water.

Charles Gregory, 25, left for a for a fishing trip off the coast of St Augustine, Florida on Friday when his 12ft jon boat became partially submerged.

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AP Psychology can be taught ‘in its entirety’, says Florida official

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State had told superintendents the course violated a new law prohibiting content on sexual orientation and gender identity

Even though Florida’s government had told school superintendents that the Advanced Placement Psychology course offered to high school students violated the state’s new law prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, it appears students may be able to take the course after all.

In a letter to state superintendents Friday, Florida’s education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr said the state believed the psychology course could be taught “in its entirety”.

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Ron DeSantis’s biggest donor to pull plug until campaign makes changes

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Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow has contributed $20m to the Never Back Down Super Pac but is now wary of the slow campaign

Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, the biggest individual donor to a group supporting Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid, has said he will not donate more money unless the Florida governor attracts new major donors and adopts a more moderate approach.

The comments by Bigelow, who gave $20m to the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down Super Pac in March, to Reuters underscore donor concerns about the Florida governor’s struggling campaign.

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Florida tells schools AP Psychology course with LGBTQ+ content violates law

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Ron DeSantis’s government has banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, effectively also banning the class

Florida has told school superintendents that the Advanced Placement psychology course offered to high school students violates the state’s new law prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, effectively banning the class, the non-profit that develops the courses said on Thursday.

The move is the latest by the administration of Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor, to limit instruction about LGBTQ+ issues and race in the state. DeSantis is challenging Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 and has made battles over cultural issues a centerpiece of his campaign.

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Family of US woman who died from ingesting kratom wins $11m damages

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Krystal Talavera, 39, took legal herbal extract, which has opioid-like effect on the brain, in 2021 and died shortly after

The family of a Florida woman who died in 2021 after ingesting kratom has been awarded more than $11m from a distributor of the south-east Asian herbal extract that has an opioid-like effect on the brain.

In a ruling finalized Thursday, judge Donald Middlebrooks of the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, told a company operating as the Kratom Distro to pay damages to the four surviving children of Krystal Talavera as well as her estate.

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‘Stop’: Black Republican congressman attacks DeSantis over slavery curriculum

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John James of Michigan says presidential contender has ‘gone too far’ as outrage grows over Florida teaching of history

Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis has “gone too far” in defending his state’s new educational standards which require public schools to teach that enslaved Black Americans benefited from their forced labor by learning useful skills, Republican congressman John James has said.

James – who is Black – made his remarks in a post on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

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Trump faces more charges in classified documents case as second aide named

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Prosecutors bring additional charges against former president as Mar-a-Lago worker Carlos De Oliveira named as third defendant

Federal prosecutors on Thursday expanded the indictment against Donald Trump for retaining national security documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them, unveiling new charges against him and an employee over an attempt to destroy surveillance footage.

The new charges – filed by the special counsel Jack Smith in Florida – were outlined in a superseding indictment that named Mar-a-Lago club maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira as the third co-defendant in the case. Trump’s valet Walt Nauta was previously indicted for obstruction with the former president last month.

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Florida ocean records ‘unprecedented’ temperatures similar to a hot tub

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The 90-100F readings add to previous warnings over warming water putting marine life and ecosystems in peril

The surface ocean temperature around the Florida Keys soared to 101.19F (38.43C) this week, in what could be a global record as ocean heat around the state reaches unprecedented extremes.

A water temperature buoy located in the waters of Manatee Bay at the Everglades national park recorded the high temperature late on Monday afternoon, US government data showed. Other nearby buoys topped 100F (38C) and the upper 90s (32C).

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Lawsuit seeks to block Florida provision that limits trans treatment for adults

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State law provision SB 254 that went into effect on 17 May greatly hinders transgender adults from obtaining gender-affirming care

On Friday, several state and national civil rights groups filed an amended complaint to an existing Florida lawsuit, asking a federal judge to bar the state from enforcing provisions of a state law that greatly hinder transgender adults from obtaining gender-affirming care.

Friday’s motion comes several weeks after district judge Robert Hinkle issued an injunction barring the state from enforcing provisions of the law. He also ruled then that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that those prohibitions are unconstitutional. But the protections issued in that initial ruling did not extend to adults.

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Kamala Harris condemns Florida over curriculum claim of slavery ‘benefit’

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Vice-president decries ‘extremist so-called leaders’ and says new teaching standards will rob children of knowing true US history

Kamala Harris went to Florida on Friday to address the state board of education’s controversial new standards for Black history, which include the contention that some Black people benefited from being enslaved.

In an impassioned afternoon speech, the vice-president predicted the standards would rob children of knowing true US history that the rest of the world has been taught.

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Florida neighborhood hopping with lionhead rabbit invasion

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Estimated 60 to 100 rabbits are descendants of a group a backyard breeder illegally let loose when she moved away

Dozens of feral rabbits are driving some residents of a Florida neighborhood hopping mad after the furry creatures that were let loose are taking over the streets and are multiplying like – rabbits.

In the suburbs of Fort Lauderdale, there’s a new “invasive species” to contend with in a state all too familiar with the destructive habits of non-native animals. These include Burmese pythons and the iguanas that can voraciously consume their way to local wildlife dominance, as well as lionfish and giant African snails.

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DeSantis reduces staff as campaign struggles to meet fundraising goals – report

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Fewer than 10 staffers were laid off, Politico reports, as more shake-ups within campaign are expected in coming weeks

Florida Governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has reduced campaign staff as his campaign has struggled to meet fundraising goals.

Fewer than 10 staffers were laid off, according to an anonymous staffer, reported Politico. The staffers were involved in event planning and may be picked up by the pro DeSantis super-Pac, Never Back Down. Two senior campaign advisers, Dave Abrams and Tucker Obenshain left the campaign this past week to assist a pro-DeSantis nonprofit group.

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State guard set up by DeSantis is being trained as personal militia, veterans say

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Veterans resign from force established as civilian disaster relief, citing concerns over ‘militaristic’ training and ‘abuse’

A Florida state guard established by the rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, under the guise of a civilian disaster relief force is instead being trained as an armed, combat-ready militia under his personal command, according to military veteran recruits who have quit the program.

Several veterans resigned after an encampment last month having become concerned at the “militaristic” training and “abuse” one disabled veteran suffered at the hands of instructors, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.

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Florida rocked by home insurance crisis: ‘I may have to sell up and move’

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Soaring hurricane-cover premiums are bad news for the state’s homeowners – and Ron DeSantis is accused of dragging his feet

Households in Florida, the third most populous state in the US, have been grappling for some time with a property insurance crisis that is making home ownership unaffordable for many. After at least six insurers went insolvent in Florida last year, Farmers on Tuesday became the latest to pull out of the Florida market, saying in a statement that the decision was based on risk exposure in the hurricane-prone state.

Climate change is threatening the very existence of some parts of Florida. And the costs are already being felt by Floridians. At the end of 2022, average annual property insurance premiums had already risen to more than $4,200 in Florida – three times the national average.

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Invasive snake wrestled into submission by hunters is Florida’s longest

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Video of capture of Burmese python measured at 19ft – as long as an adult giraffe is tall – was posted on Instagram

A snake believed to be the longest invasive Burmese python ever recorded was captured by two Florida hunters after a mighty struggle.

Stephen Gauta and Jake Waleri caught the humungous reptile in Big Cypress national preserve near the Everglades in southern Florida earlier this week after it lunged at Waleri, 22, who then wrestled it back to the ground.

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Severe US weather: California heat puts firefighters on high alert for wildfires; Canada wildfires cause air quality alerts in US midwest – as it happened

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Extreme dry conditions raising fire risk; air quality alert for Minnesota took effect at 8am on Friday

Vermont governor Phil Scott said his formal request to President Joe Biden for a major disaster declaration has been approved.

The major disaster declaration unlocks federal disaster funds to assist individuals and communities recover from the devastating floods earlier this week.

The disaster declaration provides federal support for recovery. It’s separate from, and in addition to, the federal emergency declaration the president already signed when he was overseas to help with the initial emergency phase.

It’s incredibly important to get flooded homes, businesses and public buildings as dry as possible to prevent other outcomes like mould. We’re working on resources to help with that.

I’m very grateful for the speed of Fema in the White House. It will open up significant federal resources for communities, individuals, businesses [...] In anticipation of these funds, we are working to develop a concrete list of resources to help impacted Vermonters and making sure it’s as easy as possible for Vermonters to access those.

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Floods, tornadoes, heat: more extreme weather predicted across US

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Over a third of Americans under extreme heat warnings as Vermont, still recovering from historic flooding, prepares for more storms

The US is bracing for more extreme weather from coast to coast, with a heatwave hitting California, tornados in the midwest and the east expecting more rain as it continues to reel from historic flooding.

Residents of Vermont, still suffering from an onslaught of dangerous weather in recent days, are preparing for another round of severe storms in the area beginning as early as Thursday night.

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