Category: Florida

Florida Officials Unveil Bill That Would Ban Tracking of Firearm and Ammunition Purchases

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Florida officials introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit financial institutions from collecting data on firearm and ammunition purchases, alleging that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, according to a press release.

In September, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved the use of a merchant code for firearms stores, which financial institutions, such as credit card companies, can voluntarily adopt to track firearm-related purchases. The “Florida Arms and Ammo Act” would fine credit card companies up to $10,000 per violation, according to WTSP10News.

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DeSantis Wants to ‘Further Advance Protections for Innocent Life’

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who signed a 15-week abortion ban into law last year, wants more protections for Florida’s unborn babies.

“The upcoming 2023 Florida legislative session starts in March, and we look forward to working with the Florida Legislature to further advance protections for innocent life,” press secretary Bryan Griffin shared with The Daily Signal on Tuesday afternoon.

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Report Shows Florida’s Pension System Facing Headwinds

The Center Square

The Florida Retirement System has shrunk over the last year and some analysts are saying that it will not survive on its current course, with new legislation likely not to have much of an impact.

According to the Department of Management Service’s annual comprehensive financial report, the Florida Retirement System has had a net income loss of $21,773,027 in the 2022 fiscal year, after beginning the year at $202,082,182,546 and ending the year at $180,226,404,807.

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AG Moody: ‘Bombshell New Evidence’ in Florida’s Lawsuit over Biden Deportation Policies

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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said her office received “bombshell new evidence” that the Biden administration “wrongfully withheld” from her office until just days before they went to trial on Monday.

Her office filed a lawsuit last year against the Biden administration over altering federal immigration deportation policy, including expanding a parole program President Joe Biden announced last week that he planned to expand. Moody is asking the court to halt the administration’s implementation of the policy, arguing it violates federal law and is unconstitutional.

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Conservative Christopher Rufo Among the Appointees to New College of Florida’s Board of Trustees by Gov. DeSantis

Just the News

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed conservative activist Christopher Rufo and five other people to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees with the goal of restructuring the university’s curriculum to a “classical liberal arts model.”

Rufo, a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and filmmaker known for his activism against Critical Race Theory, was appointed on Friday along with Hillsdale College Professor Matthew Spalding, Claremont-McKenna College Professor Charles Kesler, former Emory University Professor Mark Bauerlein, Inspiration Academy founder Jason Speir and attorney Debra Jenks. 

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Florida AG Urges Biden to Demand Action from Mexico Counterpart to Combat Fentanyl Crisis

The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called on President Joe Biden on Friday to “confront Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador” and “demand action” to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl being brought into the U.S. from Mexico by the Sinaloa Cartel and its gang affiliates.

The presidents are scheduled to meet in Mexico City on Monday.

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DeSantis Activates National Guard to Take on Migration Crisis

Just the News

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday announced that he would activate the state National Guard to help the federal government address the rising tide of illegal migrants entering the nation through the Florida Keys.

An archipelago situated in the state’s southeast, the islands provide a critical landing point for many migrants traveling to the United States via the Caribbean Sea.

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DeSantis Admin Orders Florida Universities to Provide Information on How They’re Pushing Woke Programming

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Florida colleges and universities are required to submit information detailing how they use state resources to support diversity, equity and inclusion programming, according to a memo from the state’s Office of Budget and Policy obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

All colleges and universities within the Florida College System and the State University System must submit a report explaining how they use state-given resources to provide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT) programs, according to the memo, which was sent by Office of Budget and Policy Director Chris Spencer to Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz and State University System of Florida Chancellor Raymond Rodrigues. Florida state law requires oversight over higher education curricula, requiring officials to “identify the degree programs offered by public postsecondary educational institutions.”

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After Resisting Policy Change, Florida School District Now Bans Boys from Using Girls’ Bathrooms

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After refusing to change its transgender policy for five years, a Florida school district will now require students to use bathrooms on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Pasco County school district Superintendent Kurt Browning announced Tuesday that the district changed its policy to mandate restroom and locker room use on the basis of biological sex, with private bathroom access for transgender students, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The policy change comes after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold a Florida school district’s policy of separating restrooms by “biological sex” instead of gender identity.

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More than 500 People Apprehended off Key West Since New Year’s Eve

The Center Square

More than 500 foreign nationals were apprehended after attempting to illegally enter Florida on the first two days of the year, an unpreceded number, officials say. They arrived by boat mostly off the coast of the Florida Keys, prompting multiple agencies to issue warnings to Floridians and a national park was forced to close to the public.

The record number of apprehensions in first two days of the year was after the Miami Border Patrol Sector reported a more than a 500% increase in apprehensions in fiscal year 2022.

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Interim Meetings This Week in Preparation for Florida’s 2023 Legislative Session

The Center Square

Florida Senate and House committees are having interim meetings this week to kick off the new legislative session for 2023, and several new committees will be meeting for the first time – and chaired by freshman Republicans.

Originally, the interim meetings were set to take place from Dec. 12-16, but were postponed and instead replaced with a special session. Lawmakers took the opportunity during that special session to address the growing issue of property insurance costs in Florida, as well as recovery after Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole ripped through the Sunshine State in September 2022.

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American Catholic Leaders Celebrate Life of Pope Benedict, ‘Defender of Truth’ Who Taught Above All Else ‘God Is Love’

Susan Berry, PhD

American Catholic leaders are acclaiming the life and work of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose scholarly writings emphasized the unity of faith and reason and, most fundamentally, the primary truth of the Catholic faith, which teaches God is Love.

Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger, died Saturday at the age of 95. He became pope in April 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II, and served until his resignation in February 2013.

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Florida Achieved Economic Milestones in 2022

The Center Square

Florida’s economy reached many milestones in 2022, including recording it’s second lowest unemployment rate in state history and reaching record levels of job creation and budget reserves. It also closed 2022 with nearly $22 billion in surplus, the highest in state history, and decreased its debt by $1.3 billion.

“By keeping Florida free and open, we have created a positive economic environment and invested in our state’s workforce and communities,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said of the state’s economic progress. He’s touted Florida leading the U.S. “in net migration and talent attraction” while “other states continue to struggle at the hands of poor leadership; people and businesses are flocking to Florida.”

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Disney Issues Warning to Park-Goers after Fights Increase Among Guests

ADN America

Disney reminded its guests to be on their best behavior and show “common courtesy” to other guests in the parks after there has been an increase in fights among visitors.

Disneyland and Walt Disney World added courtesy sections to the “Know Before You Go” section on their website, reminding guests that any unruly behavior could get them kicked out of the park.

“We ask all who come to this happy place to treat others with respect, kindness, and compassion. To help guests have a safe and enjoyable experience, we regularly update our Disneyland resort rules,” reads the Disneyland website.

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New Legislation for Florida Landlords Takes Effect January 1, Meant to Keep Tenants Safer

The Center Square

Landlords in Florida will have a new set of rules to abide by come Jan. 1 when new legislation goes into effect.

Senate Bill 898, also known as ‘Miya’s Law’, is named after Miya Marcano, a 19-year-old student who was killed in her apartment complex in Orlando in 2021 by a maintenance worker who had access to a master key. The law was designed by lawmakers to provide more safety measures for tenants by keeping records of who has access to a tenant’s property.

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Florida Considers Lowering Abortion Ban from 15 Weeks to 12 Weeks

The Center Square

Changes could be coming to Florida’s abortion laws after the incoming senate president, Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, said she would like to see Florida’s abortion ban go from 15 weeks’ gestation to 12 weeks’ gestation.

The state of Florida banned abortion in 1900, but that ban was overturned in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade case. That ruling itself was overturned by the Supreme Court in June. Anticipating that decision, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to ban abortions from 15 weeks’ gestation, with the law making no exceptions for cases pertaining to rape and incest.

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Florida Investigates Christmas-Themed Drag Show for ‘All Ages’

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On Tuesday, Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) announced that it would launch an investigation into a performing arts center that hosted a drag show targeted towards little children.

As reported by the Daily Caller, the investigation is focusing on the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, which hosted the “Drag Queen Christmas” event the day after Christmas; advertisements for the event have since been removed from the center’s website, but archived versions remain available on the Internet.

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Florida COVID-19 Committee Members Emphasize Importance of Restoring Public Trust Related to Vaccine

The Center Square

In response to Gov. Ron DeSantis creating a new Public Health Integrity Committee and filing a petition for a statewide grand jury to investigate potential crimes related to the COVID-19 vaccine, seven doctors on the committee expressed their support for the only governor in America taking such a stand.

The members of the new committee include Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, Martin Kuldorff, PhD, Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD, Joseph Fraiman, MD, Christine Stabell Benn, MD, PhD, Bret Weinstein, PhD, and Steven Templeton, PhD.

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Miami Sector Border Patrol Reported a 500 Percent Increase in Apprehensions in Fiscal 2022

The Center Square

Border Patrol agents in the Miami Sector have reported a 500% increase in apprehensions in fiscal year 2022.

From September 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022, agents apprehended 2,350 foreign nationals attempting to illegally enter Florida by sea. The majority were Cubans.

They also interdicted 131 maritime smuggling events, a 330% increase from fiscal 2921, Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar said.

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Florida Finishing 2022 with Record $22 Billion Surplus

The Center Square

The state of Florida is reporting a $21.8 billion surplus in 2022, the highest in state history. The state also decreased its debt by $1.3 billion this year, according to a newly published State Debt Report from the State of Florida Division of Bond Finance.

According to the report, Florida decreased its debt by $1.3 billion, increased its revenues by 17% ($8.5 billion), and maintained its AAA bond rating primarily because of its strong growing economy.

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Florida Unemployment Rate Lowest in 10 Largest States

The Center Square

Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.6% in November, the lowest of the 10 largest states in the U.S. and 1.1 percentage points lower than the national rate. It was also the 24th consecutive month that Florida’s unemployment rate remained below the national rate.

In November, Florida continued to exceed the national job growth rate for the 20th consecutive month; its employers have added jobs for 31 consecutive months.

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DeSantis Signs Toll Relief, Disaster Relief and Property Insurance Bills into Law

The Center Square

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed three bills into law passed by the state legislature during a recently convened special legislative session. The new laws provide “the most significant property insurance reform in recent history,” disaster assistance to those impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole and extend toll relief to commuters.

On Friday, he signed SB 2-A, to help stabilize the state’s property insurance market, increase competition, and strengthen consumer protections.

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Senate Fiscal Hawks Johnson, Scott, Lee, and Paul Call for an End to Pandemic Spending

M.D. Kittle

While hagglers appeared to have reached a bipartisan framework agreement on a full-year omnibus spending plan, fiscal hawks like Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are asking an important question: Why haven’t we gone back to normal spending now that the pandemic is over?

On Thursday, the Senate easily passed a a one-week continuing resolution, keeping the government funded through December 23. A worked-over spending plan is expected to be unveiled Monday, as negotiations continue in the shadow of another government shutdown threat in the days before the Christmas break.

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Orange Juice Prices Set to Rise After Florida Citrus Crops Damaged by Hurricanes and Disease

The Center Square

After Hurricanes Ian and Nicole ravaged Florida causing billions of dollars in damage, the state’s citrus growers are expecting smaller yields. As a result, the price of America’s favorite breakfast beverage, orange juice, is expected to rise in price as supply drops.

Frozen orange juice concentrate was already down in production for the 2020-2021 season and on-tree crop values were down nearly half from the 2016-2017 season, hitting a 10-year low. This season’s yield is predicted to be the lowest in 80 years.

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Florida State Rep. Eskamani Files Bill to Get Rid of Diaper Sales Tax

The Center Square

A bill has been refiled that could permanently nix Florida’s sales tax from diapers and adult incontinence products.

Florida state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani filed House Bill 29, a continuation of an already existing sales tax exemption for children’s diapers, that are tax-free until June 30, 2023. If passed, the exemption would be expanded to also help reduce the cost for the elderly, their families, and those who use adult diapers and other incontinence products.

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Florida Leads Nation in Parent-Led Education

The Center Square

Florida ranked first in the United States for parental involvement in education, according to the Center for Education Reform’s Parent Power Index.

The index is released annually and measures the policies that exist in each state. Those policies are ranked by whether they allowed parental choice in what their child’s education would be, and if the needs of the student and their families were considered first.

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DeSantis Announces Plan to Empanel Grand Jury to Investigate Wrongdoing Linked to COVID-19 Shots

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Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday that he has petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to empanel a statewide grand jury to investigate “any and all wrongdoing” linked to the COVID-19 shots to bring accountability to those who have engaged in misconduct.

In its petition to the state Supreme Court, the DeSantis administration said that the “pharmaceutical industry has a notorious history of misleading the public for financial gain” and the grand jury will probe “the development, promotion, and distribution of vaccines purported to prevent COVID-19 infection, symptoms, and transmission.”

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Florida Agricultural Commissioner Wants to Ban Land Sales to Foreign Entitities

The Center Square

Florida’s new Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson wants to restrict the sale of The Sunshine State’s farmland to foreign countries after increasing concerns about what foreign buyers – namely Chinese companies closely affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – are doing with the agricultural land once they purchase it.

Food costs and supply are becoming a point of contention for Floridians and Americans as a whole, and there is worry that the continuation of farmland sales to foreign entities could cause food prices to be intentionally inflated or production could be shut down altogether.

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Border Patrol Apprehend Record Number of Cubans Attempting to Illegally Enter Florida

The Center Square

Nearly every day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, working with multiple law enforcement partners, apprehend Cubans attempting to enter Florida illegally. They’re also apprehending other foreign nationals, including sex offenders.

They’re doing so as U.S. Coast Guard crews continue to apprehend a record number of Cubans. In fiscal year 2022, they apprehended a record high 6,182 Cubans at sea compared to 49 in fiscal 2020.

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Florida School Board Meeting Reveals ‘Everyday’ Violence, Chaos in Schools as Teachers Flee

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Dozens of teachers have fled a Florida school district amid startling reports of ongoing student violence and chaos there, a contentious school board meeting revealed this week.

Brevard County’s lengthy school board meeting on Thursday revealed what one teacher called “an everyday basis” of violent and disruptive behavior from students in the district’s schools. 

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Florida County Is New Focal Point of Election Integrity Complaints in Pro-Election Security State

Just the News

Orange County, Fla., has become a focal point for election security complaints — from alleged ballot harvesting to unauthorized exposure of protected voter information — despite the state’s new emphasis on election integrity.

The office of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections (SOE), which has been led by Democrat Bill Cowles since he was first elected to his position in 1996, has come under scrutiny as whistleblowers have come forward in recent months to reveal an array of alleged election irregularities occurring on his watch.

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Twitter Exec Pushed to Ban Matt Gaetz’s Account After January 6 Unrest

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Twitter’s former head of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth, pushed internally for the company to ban Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, despite messaging another employee that such a decision did not align with the company’s policies, according to the company’s internal documents published by author Michael Shellenberger Friday as part of Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s “Twitter Files.”

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Sen. Rick Scott Praises Elon Musk for Hunter Biden Revealings

The Center Square

Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is giving kudos to new Twitter CEO Elon Musk after Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi released a flurry of “Twitter files” from the company’s archives.

The files documented a pattern of how the social media giant increasingly suppressed free speech over the past few years. This includes nixing the New York Post’s story in October 2020 that exposed Hunter Biden’s business dealings, along with compromising photographs of President Joe Biden’s son.

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DeSantis’ Office: No ‘U-Turns’ on Decision to Strip Disney of Special Status

The Center Square

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has no plans to back down against corporate behemoth Walt Disney Co. after speculation that laws put in place in April to dissolve the company’s self-governing power were going to be scaled back.

In March, then Disney CEO Bob Chapek publicly opposed House Bill (HB) 1557, the “Parental Rights in Education Act,” which was designed to restrict the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools from kindergarten through to third grade. The bill quickly became known in the media as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

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Lee County Milestone: Over 4 Million Cubic Yards of Hurricane Debris Collected

The Center Square

Hurricane season may be over, but recovery efforts continue in Florida and in Lee County, which was hard hit by Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that made landfall on Sept. 28.

On Monday, Lee County announced recovery personnel had “reached another milestone with 4 million cubic yards of debris collected, roughly enough material to fill Hertz Arena to the ceiling 10½ times.” The 30-acre 171,000 square-foot entertainment venue, which seats 7,181 people, is southwest Florida’s premier arena that also hosts NHL, NBA, USBL and other sporting events.

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Florida’s Recreational Marijuana Ballot Initiative Lands 50,000 Signatures

The Center Square

Florida could see future changes to its marijuana laws if a petition that has already gathered almost 50,000 validated signatures is put on the ballot in 2024 to legalize the use of marijuana products for adults.

The Smart & Safe Florida political committee and the state’s leading marijuana company, Trulieve, are the driving forces behind the initiative, and thus far, the group has managed to total 49,692 valid signatures.

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Florida AG Moody, Others Warn of ‘Frightening’ New Trends of Fentanyl Distribution

The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is continuing to warn Floridians about an unprecedented increase in the number of counterfeit pills flooding the market containing deadly amounts of fentanyl.

On Thursday, she pointed to a recent U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration public safety alert reported on by The Center Square that found that six out of 10 fake prescription pills tested by the agency contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, up 50% from their testing results last year.

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Florida Mulls Undoing Law That Revoked Disney’s Self Governing After ‘Woke’ Feud with DeSantis

Just the News

Florida lawmakers are reportedly working to reverse a law that stripped Disney of its special tax status in the state after its then-CEO criticized a state law on gender classes in public schools.

The possible change, first reported by the Financial Times, follows Disney replacing CEO Bob Chapek who was in a feud with GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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Florida Takes $2 Billion Away from BlackRock Due to Firm’s Activist Investing Standards

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Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced Thursday that the state will begin pulling over $2 billion in assets from large investment manager BlackRock because of the firm’s environmentally and socially motivated investing standards.

Patronis said that BlackRock is choosing to use its money to pursue its ideology rather than secure profits for its clients, according to a press release. Florida’s State Treasury will begin to remove roughly $1.43 billion worth of long-term securities from BlackRock’s control as well as approximately $600 million worth of short-term investments managed by the firm.

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DeSantis Blasts Apple in Dispute over Elon Musk, Twitter

The Center Square

Elon Musk says Twitter may now be removed from the Apple App store, prompting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to defend the social media company.

“Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?” Musk, the billionaire owner of Twitter and Tesla, tweeted Monday. “Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why. Who else has Apple censored?”

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Judge Sides with DeSantis, Says Governor Won’t Have to Testify in Lawsuit Brought by Former Prosecutor

Just the News

A federal judge this week ruled that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will not have to testify in a lawsuit brought against him by a prosecutor he dismissed over the summer.

DeSantis made headlines in August when he fired State Attorney Andrew Warren after the latter indicated he would not enforce laws prohibiting sex-change operations for minors. “State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said at the time.

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