Researchers at the University of Florida planted thale cress in harsh lunar dirt returned by Apollo 11 astronauts
For the first time, scientists have grown plants in soil from the moon collected by Nasa’s Apollo astronauts.
Researchers had no idea if anything would sprout in the harsh moon dirt and wanted to see if it could be used to grow food by a new generation of lunar explorers. The results stunned them.
Continue reading...The 12-story Champlain Towers South building in Surfside had collapsed abruptly in June 2021, killing 98 people
A nearly $1bn tentative settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit brought by families of victims and survivors of last June’s condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, an attorney said Wednesday.
Harley S Tropin announced the $997m settlement during a hearing before Miami-Dade circuit court judge Michael Hanzman. Still pending final approval, the settlement involves insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants.
Continue reading...Toxicology test confirmed Tamara Lynn Sytch had blood-alcohol level three times over the legal limit at time of the accident
A member of the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame crashed into and killed a man while driving drunk in central Florida earlier this year, authorities said.
Tamara Lynn “Sunny” Sytch caused the wreck that killed Julian Lasseter on 25 March but it was not until later that a toxicology test confirmed the 49-year-old former pro wrestling personality had a blood-alcohol level more than three times over the legal limit at the time of the accident, police said in a statement to the Guardian on Monday.
Continue reading...Andrew Fahie was arrested last week in a US Drug Enforcement Administration sting as he was preparing to board a private jet
The premier of the British Virgin Islands has demanded his immediate release from US custody, arguing he is immune from prosecution on cocaine-smuggling charges because he is the elected, constitutional head of government of the British overseas territory.
An attorney for Andrew Fahie made the request in a filing with Miami federal court on Monday.
Continue reading...Uninvited guest surprised Naples homeowners when they opened door to garage after hearing a crash
A gregarious Florida alligator seemingly could not wait for a family’s birthday party to begin, so it slipped into a garage where supplies were being stored and chugged down a slab of Diet Coke.
The uninvited guest surprised Naples homeowners Karyn and Jamie Dobson when they opened the connecting door from their house after hearing a crash, WINK News reported.
Continue reading...Move could thwart state’s retaliation against company’s opposition to ‘don’t say gay’ law
Disney has told investors that attempts by the state of Florida to repeal the company’s ability to operate a private government in the state are unlawful, in a move that could thwart Florida’s retaliation against Disney’s opposition to a “don’t say gay” law.
Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, has pushed legislation that would eliminate the Disney-operated Reedy Creek Improvement district, a move which would have huge financial implications for the company.
Continue reading...Judge says he needs more time to determine a punishment and orders Alexander Jerich to write 25-page essay on 2016 massacre
A Florida judge has ordered a man who defaced an LGBTQ+ Pride mural to write a 25-page essay about the 2016 Pulse gay nightclub shooting.
Last June, the city of Delray Beach in south Florida unveiled a rainbow mural at an intersection on the fifth anniversary of the attack, in which a gunman killed 49 people at the club in Orlando.
Continue reading...Republican governor embraces top priority of his party, following Donald Trump’s false claims that his 2020 re-election was stolen
Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday to create a police force dedicated to pursuing voter fraud and other election crimes, embracing a top priority of Republicans after Donald Trump’s false claims that his reelection was stolen.
DeSantis, who is running for reelection and considered a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, made voting legislation a focus this year, pushing the Republican-controlled Legislature to create the policing unit in a speech where he referenced unspecified cases of voter fraud, which have become popular talking points in his party.
Continue reading...Police arrived at the venue to find wedding guests being treated for ‘symptoms consistent with that of someone who has used illegal drugs’
A Florida bride and her wedding caterer have been criminally charged after serving food laced with marijuana to their wedding guests, sickening them and sending several to hospital.
Danya Shea Svoboda, 42, and Jocelyn Montrinice Bryant, 31, who catered her wedding, face charges of violating Florida’s anti-tampering laws, delivery of marijuana and culpable negligence.
Continue reading...Governor Ron DeSantis’s redistricting gambit means ‘for all intents and purposes, there’s currently … one-man rule’, says one former GOP strategist
As Florida Republicans gave final approval to new congressional districts on Thursday, Black lawmakers staged a sit-in on the floor of the legislature, praying, chanting and singing that Black voters were under attack in the state.
The extraordinary moment served as a remarkable endpoint to a brazen attack by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.
Continue reading...Florida strips company of self-governing power for opposing Governor Ron DeSantis’s ‘don’t say gay’ law
For Joe Biden, the vote by Florida Republicans on Thursday to strip Disney of its self-governing powers was a step too far.
“Christ, they’re going after Mickey Mouse,” the president exclaimed at a fundraiser in Oregon, in apparent disbelief that state governor Ron DeSantis’s culture wars had reached the gates of the Magic Kingdom.
Continue reading...Governor Ron DeSantis is set to sign bill revoking 1967 law allowing Disney to self-govern a roughly 25,000-acre Orlando area
Florida legislators passed a bill on Thursday that would revoke Walt Disney Co’s special tax status in a move widely seen as tit-for-tat for the company’s opposition to a new “don’t say gay” state law limiting discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in schools.
The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis, who is all but guaranteed to sign it.
Continue reading...Plan drawn by Ron DeSantis gives Republicans a significant boost and is one of the most aggressively gerrymandered maps in US
Florida Republicans approved a new congressional map that severely curtails Black voting power in the state on Thursday, taking a final vote as Black lawmakers staged a sit-in on the floor of the legislature.
The new plan, which was drawn by Governor Ron DeSantis, gives Republicans a significant boost in the state and is one of the most aggressively gerrymandered maps passed in recent months. Republicans would be expected to win 20 of the state’s 28 congressional districts, a four seat increase from the 16 they hold now. It also eliminates two of four districts where Black voters have been able to elect the candidate of their choice.
Continue reading...Move follows a series of hardline measures by Republicans in the state to alter teaching in schools as governor welcomes news
Florida’s education department has rejected 54 mathematics textbooks from next year’s school curriculum, citing alleged references to critical race theory among a range of reasoning for some of the rejections, officials announced.
The department said in a news release Friday that some of the books had been rejected for failure to comply with the state’s content standards, Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking [Best], but that 21% of the books were disallowed “because they incorporate prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT”.
Continue reading...Anti-LGBTQ+ measures among more than 156 bills targeting issues of identity, says PEN report
Since Florida passed its controversial “don’t say gay” bill, conservative states across America have been advancing similar bills as they attempt to ban the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms.
Last month, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law the Parental Rights in Education bill. The law prohibits all discussion of sexuality and gender identity in schools, a move that advocates say will “erase” LGBTQ+ students and history.
This article was amended on 11 April 2022. An earlier version of the standfirst suggested all 156 bills in question related to LGBTQ+ issues.
Continue reading...Florida’s governor is unhappy that Disney has opposed his ‘don’t say gay’ bill –and is threatening to revoke its privileges
It took a single stroke of Ron DeSantis’s pen, passing Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” bill into law, to transform the self-proclaimed happiest place on earth into a scene of bitter conflict.
Disney’s theme parks have become the latest battlefront in the pugnacious rightwing Republican governor’s culture war on what he calls “wokeness”, and on the state’s LBGTQ+ community. DeSantis, a close Trump ally, and perhaps rival, is threatening sanctions on the corporate behemoth after it dared to challenge the controversial law banning discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.
Continue reading...Second building ordered evacuated in North Miami Beach since collapse of Champlain Towers South last June in nearby Surfside, which killed 98 people
Residents of a five-story apartment building in North Miami Beach were ordered to evacuate after officials deemed the building “structurally unsound” during its 50-year recertification process, officials said.
The residents of Bayview 60 Homes were ordered out on Monday by city officials. It was the second building ordered evacuated in the city since the collapse of Champlain Towers South last June in nearby Surfside, which killed 98 people.
Continue reading...Centers for Disease Control and Prevention terminates Title 42 from 23 May, ending policy widely criticized as pretext to keep migrants out
• Senate deal on drastically pared-down Covid aid package may be imminent
US adds 431,000 jobs as hiring spree cuts unemployment rate to 3.6%
• Disney staff stage walkouts over ‘don’t say gay’ bill
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The late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is to be honoured by having a US navy ship named after her.
The yet-to-be-built fuel tanker will join a fleet of John Lewis-class “replenishment oilers” named for historical figures in human and civil rights. The navy took delivery of the first of the fleet, a tribute to the former Democratic congressman, last summer.
Continue reading...Republican-led Senate passes bill that could hamper growth of solar energy by removing popular financial incentive
In one of America’s sunniest states, a Republican-led Senate recently passed a bill that could hamper the growth of solar energy by removing a popular financial incentive among consumers.
Environmentalists are decrying the measure, arguing that the expansion of rooftop solar is a necessary step in the fight against the climate crisis. The bill was passed in Florida, as another extremely sunny state, California, considered a similar update to its solar policies.
Continue reading...Measure bars teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade
The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has signed into law a bill that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it risks marginalizing LGBTQ+ people.
LGBTQ+ advocates, students, Democrats, the entertainment industry and the White House have denounced what critics have called the “don’t say gay” bill. The issue has led to a clash between DeSantis and Disney, a major player in the Florida tourism industry.
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