Florida’s tourism numbers continue to grow, according to new data released by VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism agency.
In the third quarter, between July and September, Florida welcomed 35.1 million visitors, marking a 6.9% increase from Q3 2021. It’s also the fifth consecutive quarter of overall visitation that’s surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
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A federal judge on Thursday blocked Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, from being enforced at colleges and universities.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled Thursday that the legislation, which prohibits faculty from teaching race in a way that might induce “guilt, anguish or other psychological distress,” cannot be enforced at higher education institutions calling it “positively dystopian.” The ruling comes after two lawsuits by a Florida A&M professor and University of South Florida student and professor who argued the act was unconstitutional.
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Calling Florida the “most veteran-friendly state,” Gov. Ron DeSantis says state agencies and partners are committed to caring for its 1.5 million veterans through a range of programs and resources. Throughout Military Family Appreciation Month, Attorney General Ashley Moody is also highlighting the state’s efforts to protect them from scams targeting those in the military.
“Florida’s veterans have made countless sacrifices to protect our freedoms, and in return we are working hard to ensure they have the resources and support they need to be successful and take care of their families,” DeSantis said. “My administration will continue to invest in our veterans in the same way that they made sacrifices to invest in the freedom of our nation.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded Tuesday to criticisms from former President Donald Trump, telling a reporter, “When you’re getting things done, you take incoming fire.”
Trump has raised eyebrows by criticizing DeSantis, also rumored to be considering a 2024 run for president, calling the Republican governor “Ron DeSanctimonious,” and describing him as “an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations.”
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The Miami Marlins on Monday promoted Caroline O’Connor to president of business operations – making history as the first Major League Baseball team to have a female president and general manager.
O’Conner joins Kim Ng, who the Marlins hired two years ago as its general manager, according to ESPN.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit filed by Texas and Louisiana seeking to halt a Department of Homeland Security policy that limited federal agents from detaining and deporting dangerous criminal aliens and instead is allowing them to remain in the U.S.
“Biden’s refusal to enact federal immigration laws passed by Congress is jeopardizing public safety,” Moody said. Earlier this year, Moody and 18 other attorneys general also filed a brief with the court in support of Texas’ and Louisiana’s case.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday expanded the state of emergency to all 67 counties in light of the changing path of Tropical Storm Nicole.
On Thursday morning, Hurricane Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane near Vero Beach. As of 10:00 am, Nicole was downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
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Florida ranks first in the U.S. for attracting and developing a skilled workforce, according to Lightcast’s seventh-annual Talent Attraction Scorecard.
Florida ranked first overall in education attainment, jobs, skilled jobs, migration in 2020, competitive effect, and skilled job openings.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, won reelection by almost 20 points, and all six of the school board candidates he endorsed have prevailed Tuesday. DeSantis had previously endorsed 24 candidates in school board races, all of whom won.
While school board races are historically nonpartisan, parents’ outrage over critical race theory, transgender activism, and COVID-19 lockdowns in schools have galvanized a parental rights movement that Republicans largely support and Democrats largely oppose. The parents rights group Moms for Liberty also endorsed many of the candidates DeSantis backed.
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The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America celebrated the election victories of Florida Republicans Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio.
“Governor Ron DeSantis’ courageous pro-life leadership is an inspiration,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser. “He stands unflinchingly with the unborn and their mothers, and tonight Florida voters stood with him and rejected pro-abortion extremist Charlie Crist.”
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On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a proclamation declaring November 7th as the first annual Victims of Communism Day in the state.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who leads in all polls heading into Tuesday’s midterm election, has been blasting Democratic-run states on the campaign trail over the past week, pointing out that more people are “voting with their feet” and fleeing from woke leaders “running so many parts of our country.”
He made the remarks as at least nine incumbent Democratic governors’ races are too close to call and are considered “toss-ups.”
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A new campaign ad dropped on Friday describing Gov. Ron DeSantis as one created by God to fight for freedom.
DeSantis is running for reelection to his second term and holds a more than 10-point lead over his Republican-turned-Democratic challenger Charlie Crist.
The governor’s wife, Casey DeSantis, posted the ad on Twitter, saying, “I love you, Ron. On behalf of millions of people, never stop fighting for freedom.”
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Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has sounded the alarm over a Chinese research lab’s purchase of land in Florida to establish a primate breeding facility.
JOINN Laboratories CA Inc. purchased 1,400 acres in Levy County, Fla., for a $5.5 million sum, per the Epoch Times. JOINN’s founders have close ties to the Chinese military. The sale is one of the largest Chinese land purchases in the U.S. in recent years. JOINN Laboratories, the parent company of the California lab that bought the land, is a Beijing-based drug developer.
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Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) is under investigation for allegedly violating a state ban on electioneering inside a polling station.
Castor entered the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library in Tampa on Monday Oct. 24, according to a report filed by a clerk in the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.
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Nikolas Cruz, the gunman in the deadly Parkland school shooting, received a life sentence on Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.
A jury previously declined to recommend the death penalty for Cruz, instead proposing a life sentence with no parole, to which the judge on Wednesday sentenced him, per CNN.
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Joe Biden committed multiple verbal gaffes in Florida Tuesday while rallying Democrat voters against “mega-MAGA” Republicans in the comfortably red state, and his slip-ups were so bad, even the New York Times noticed.
While delivering remarks on protecting Social Security and Medicare and lowering prescription drug costs in Hallandale Beach, Florida, Tuesday afternoon, he once again told the lie that his son Beau died in Iraq.
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Florida’s highest-ever 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress rankings indicate that the state’s students are “well ahead of their peers, especially with younger and educationally at-risk students who were harmed the most from distance learning in other states,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said when announcing the ranking.
“We insisted on keeping schools open and guaranteed in-person learning in 2020 because we knew there would be widespread harm to our students if students were locked out,” he said, adding that the results “once again prove that we made the right decision.”
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The Florida Education Association (FEA) lost more than 4,500 members – a 3.3 percent drop – in just the 2020-21 school year.
By comparison, the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) lost 2.3 and 2.1 percent of their memberships, respectively, in the same single school year.
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The Florida Board of Medicine has voted to ban puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries such as double mastectomies and castrations – what LGBTQ activists call “gender-affirming care” – for children under the age of 18 in the state.
The move to prohibit the life-altering hormones and surgeries for the treatment of gender dysphoria in children and teens makes the Florida medical board the first in the nation to pursue such a rule, NBC News reported Saturday.
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Former President Donald Trump is continuing to voice his support for Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and plans on headlining a rally next week for his 2016 GOP presidential primary opponent.
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In response to a recent protest during which students took over a campus building, shouted and banged on doors, University of Florida has pledged to enforce a ban on indoor demonstrations as the Board of Trustees meets next week to appoint Republican Sen. Ben Sasse as president.
Current UF President Kent Fuchs stated in a letter to students that those who violate a long-standing campus regulation that “no demonstrations are permitted inside university buildings” will face disciplinary action under the Student Conduct Code.
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The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) rankings indicate that Florida students are “well ahead of their peers, especially with younger and educationally at-risk students who were harmed the most from distance-learning in other states,” the governor said.
“We insisted on keeping schools open and guaranteed in-person learning in 2020 because we knew there would be widespread harm to our students if students were locked out,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. The results, he said, “once again prove that we made the right decision.”
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In the past few months, Florida law enforcement officers have seized enough fentanyl to kill the state’s entire 22 million population.
Attorney General Ashley Moody announced massive seizures of illicit fentanyl pouring into Florida after being smuggled across the southern border as her office continues to fight the Biden administration in court over its immigration policies.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new election crimes unit has recommended state police open a full criminal investigation into a Democrat whistleblower’s detailed complaint of a long-running, widespread ballot harvesting operation in the African-American communities in politically important central Florida.
Former Orange County Commissioner candidate Cynthia Harris filed a sworn affidavit in late August with the Secretary of State’s office alleging that illegal operations to collect third-party ballots have been going on for years in the Orlando area where voting activists are paid $10 for each ballot they collect.
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Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is ahead of his Democratic opponent, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, by double digits in the state’s gubernatorial race, according to a new survey released on Wednesday.
DeSantis led Crist by 14%, earning the support of 55% of respondents over Crist’s 41%, according to the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab, which conducted the survey. The poll, if correct, would mean a landslide win for DeSantis and a marked increase from his 2018 margin of victory over Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, which was 0.4%.
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A tour that aims to teach college students about the ills of socialism will stop at the University of North Florida Wednesday.
“The national ‘Truth About Socialism’ tour, which aims to educate students on college campuses across America about the dangers of socialism ahead of the midterm elections, is coming to the University of North Florida,” according to the press release from the organizers of the event. “This event will be hosted by Turning Point USA in partnership with the Leadership Institute, and members of the press are encouraged to attend.”
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With two weeks left to go until the 2022 midterms, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is currently leading Democratic challenger Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) with Hispanic voters in the state.
As reported by The New York Post, the latest poll from Telemundo and LX News shows that 51 percent of Floridian Hispanics would vote for DeSantis, while 44 percent support Crist. Only 4 percent remain undecided, with another 1 percent opting to support someone else in the race.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking several actions to help Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, including planning on calling a special session in December to address property taxes and property insurance reform.
He first issued an executive order to suspend property tax deadlines for residents in 26 counties impacted by Hurricane Ian. The order covers personal homes and commercial property that were either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable.
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Data journalist and pollster Rich Baris posted to social media he predicts a “homeschool boom” following the news that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory committee unanimously voted to add the COVID shot to the children and adolescent immunization schedule, a move that will likely lead many states to require COVID shots for school attendance.
Baris, also known as “The People’s Pundit,” tweeted Wednesday, “Parents will flip the F–k out, with good reason. Homeschool boom.”
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The Florida Board of Education unanimously approved a series of policies Wednesday, including one that disciplines teachers who teach gender identity or sexual orientation to 5-year-olds.
Under the policy, teachers could have their license suspended or revoked if they break Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education Law, which prohibits lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation from kindergarten through third grade. The board also approved rules requiring schools to alert parents if a biological man will be using women’s bathrooms and locker rooms.
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Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist’s campaign manager has departed with less than three weeks until the election.
“Austin Durrer has departed the campaign to focus on a family matter,” Crist spokeswoman Samantha Ramirez said, according to Florida Politics. The campaign insists Durrer’s leaving is not the product of Crist’s sagging poll numbers. Sydney Throop will take over the role. Throop previously ran Crist’s congressional campaigns.
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As of Tuesday, Oct. 18, all schools impacted by Hurricane Ian are open.
More than $200 million has been granted to schools that have demonstrated student growth and teaching excellence, including $13 million to schools in southwest Florida greatly impacted by Hurricane Ian.
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A Florida-led virtual 2022 Human Trafficking Summit launched Tuesday nationwide, engaging experts from across the country to collaborate on ways to more effectively combat human trafficking. More than 2,300 attendees registered and registration remains open at HumanTraffickingSummit.com.
The summit provides over 16 hours of educational content, which will remain accessible online through March 2023.
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Floridians living in three counties most impacted by Hurricane Ian – Charlotte, Lee, and Sarasota – will have more time to vote early and in more locations.
Early voting may begin for residents of these three counties as early as Oct. 24, according to a new executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program is continuing to pay off as more law enforcement officers relocate to Florida from other states.
On Friday, Gov. DeSantis delivered $5,000 bonuses to six new recruits in the Cape Coral Police Department in Lee County. Two relocated from New York; one relocated from Maryland, one relocated from Georgia, and two are new to the profession.
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Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shut down a major drug trafficking operation run by gang members affiliated with Mexican cartels, Moody’s office announced Wednesday.
So far, 25 people have been charged, including SUR-13 (Sureños) gang members who already have multiple felony counts related to drug trafficking, violent criminal acts and conspiracy. They were arrested on a combined 64 first-degree felony counts. Many involved were already incarcerated in prisons in several counties in Florida.
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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis argued Thursday that Parkland mass shooter Nikolas Cruz warranted execution after a jury recommended life imprisonment.
Cruz’s official sentencing is set for Nov. 1 after the jury recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole. DeSantis responded with disappointment.
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The Biden Administration’s Department of the Treasury recently confirmed to Democratic members of Congress that it is currently investigating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) over his chartering of aircraft to fly illegal aliens into Martha’s Vineyard.
According to Politico, Deputy Inspector General Richard Delmar sent a letter on October 7th to the congressional delegation of Massachusetts, which consists entirely of Democrats, declaring that it would “get this work underway as soon as possible.” The probe aims to determine whether or not DeSantis used federal COVID-19 funding to pay for the flights.
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A few years ago, while visiting the National Hurricane Center, I asked the staff to describe a worst-case weather scenario for Florida. They described a high-category hurricane stalling off the coast and pummeling the western side of the state with storm surge. In other words, they described Hurricane Ian.
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Florida will continue transporting foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally north for at least another eight months, according to a state contract and purchase orders reviewed and first reported by the Sun Sentinel.
They are being transported by Vertol Systems Co., a comprehensive transportation service provider, which was granted a contract by the Florida Department of Transportation. Transportation services are to continue through June 30, 2023, according to the contract.
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University of Florida students and faculty are protesting the appointment of Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) as president of the school because of his positions on same-sex marriage.
During a question-and-answer session that Sasse attended on Monday at the university, protestors claimed the senator’s stance on same-sex marriage makes him an unsuitable choice for being the university’s president, The Hill reported.
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Hundreds of students at the University of Florida (UF) disrupted a forum for Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, the only current contender for the school’s next president, with protests Monday over a previous statement he made regarding a same-sex marriage law.
“The Supreme Court once again overstepped its Constitutional role by acting as a super-legislature and imposing its own definition of marriage on the American people rather than allowing voters to decide in the states,” Sasse said in a 2015 statement in opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision to enshrine same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. The Nebraska Republican is reportedly retiring from Congress to pursue a career in academia, according to a former aide.
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Nebraska Senator Dr. Ben Sasse will potentially be stepping down from his office to become the next University of Florida (UF) president.
On Thursday, UF, located in Gainseville, announced that its Presidential Search Committee unanimously voted to recommend Senator Sasse to the Board of Trustees for the “13th president of the University of Florida.”
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The lone debate next week between Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democrat challenger Charlie Crist has been postponed due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
The announcement was made Thursday by the debate host, local news station WPEC News 12, according to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.
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Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis maintains an 11-point lead over his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, as he grapples with the impact of Hurricane Ian.
The Mason-Dixon poll, which Florida Politics obtained, surveyed 800 registered and likely voters and found that 52% of them backed DeSantis, compared to 41% for Crist. The double digit lead puts the current Florida governor well outside of the survey’s +/- 3.5% margin of error.
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President Joe Biden praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his leadership in overseeing recovery efforts after the devastation created by Hurricane Ian.
After surveying areas damaged by the hurricane, Biden met with the governor and state and local officials. At a news conference, he praised DeSantis’ management of recovery efforts, saying, “What the governor has done is pretty remarkable.”
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Florida officials are facing multiple hurdles with midterm election voting – now less than six weeks away – as a result of the damage inflicted last week by Hurricane Ian.
Challenges include a lack of functional polling sites, a potential shortage of poll workers, and the deadline for the state to send vote-by-mail ballots being Thursday – while the Postal Service hasn’t resumed service in some of the hardest-hit areas, according to Politico.
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U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., says he believes the Republican Party will take back the Senate in November.
Scott told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, “My effort right now is on the hurricane relief for this hurricane, but absolutely I think we’re at 52 seats-plus. If you look at Biden’s numbers, they’re really bad. People have rejected the Biden agenda. We have great candidates. The Democrats have to defend what Biden has done.”]
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is issuing another warning to Floridians to be aware of fraudsters attempting to take advantage of those impacted by Hurricane Ian.
“Hurricane Ian devastated Floridians, destroying homes and leaving thousands without food, water or electricity,” Moody said. “Rebuilding will take months or longer – creating an inexhaustible demand for qualified contractors and debris removal services.
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