Tag Archives: Florida

Ian Reaches Hurricane Strength As Track Shifts East

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Hurricane Ian formed Monday morning as its path continued to shift back more to the east with much of Central Florida within the cone of uncertainty and the first hurricane watches issued on the state’s Gulf Coast. The latest track forecasts Ian to make landfall north of Tampa Bay early Friday as a Category 1 hurricane …

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DeSantis Warns Against Over-Evacuation Before Storm

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: With a vast swath of Florida’s Gulf Coast facing the possibility of a direct strike from a major hurricane in the coming days, Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to finish making preparations and not focus too much on where the storm’s center currently is predicted to track, noting there still is significant uncertainty about its path. …

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Biden Approves FEMA Aid For Florida Ahead Of Storm

Fox News reports: President Joe Biden has postponed his scheduled trip to Florida due to Tropical Storm Ian looming over the Caribbean Sea. He was scheduled to visit Orlando to headline a rally for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on September 27th, but the major storm is expected to strengthen to a Category 3 or 4 before making landfall on …

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Vandals Smash Windows At Gainesville Pride Center

Gainesville’s ABC affiliate reports: On Saturday morning, members of the Pride Community Center in Gainesville received a call from a real estate office in the same complex about their building being vandalized. “She told me that she was just informed by somebody that came to her office that the pride center had been vandalized and that the windows were all …

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Florida Teacher Berates Student Over Not Standing For Pledge: “Where Are You From, Mexico Or Guatemala?”

The Insider reports: A Florida school district removed a high school teacher who was recorded using racist rhetoric to admonish a student who didn’t stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. A TikTok of the Wednesday incident has amassed more than 1.4 million views as of Saturday. A spokesperson for Manatee County Schools told Insider that the district launched an investigation …

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Moon Launch Delayed As Florida Braces For Hurricane

NPR reports: The Artemis 1 moon mission has been delayed, not once, not twice, but now three times. The launch was scheduled for Tuesday, but NASA announced on Saturday that it had decided to postpone the mission in response to Tropical Storm Ian, which threatens to hit Florida next week as a hurricane. The Kennedy Space Center is located on …

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NRA Gives Ron DeSantis Their “A+” Endorsement

Florida Politics reports: A new report card was published by the NRA-Political Victory Fund. That allows some politicians to boast to voters about their high score — and in some cases their low rating.  Of note, the organization has not endorsed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for re-election and gave him a “B” grade. That said, U.S. Rep. Val Demings, his …

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DeSantis Requests Federal Aid Ahead Of Hurricane

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a State of Emergency in 24 Florida counties as the state braces for the potential impacts of Tropical Depression 9, according to a news release sent Friday afternoon. DeSantis has also asked for a federal pre-landfall Emergency Declaration ahead of the storm. The governor’s office said the declaration will make …

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Florida’s “Election Crimes” Cop Dies Of Heart Attack

Florida Politics reports: Longtime Republican government official Pete Antonacci, who was serving as the head of Florida’s new election police unit, has died after suffering a major heart attack. Gov. Ron DeSantis had named Antonacci to lead the Office of Election Crimes and Security less than four months prior. The Office of Election Crimes and Security, which works closely with …

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“Major Hurricane” Likely To Threaten Florida Next Week

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Tropical Depression Nine formed in the Caribbean on Friday with a path that could bring it to Florida next week as a major Category 3 hurricane that could become either Hurricane Hermine or Hurricane Ian depending on how fast it intensifies compared to another new tropical depression in the Atlantic. In its 11 a.m. update, the …

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Florida Pastor Arrested On Multiple Child Sex Charges

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: A pastor and owner of a kung fu training academy from Palm Bay has been charged with multiple sex crimes involving children, according to the Palm Bay Police Department. Palm Bay police arrested 42-year-old Roberson Douge Wednesday after they said two victims reported the alleged sexual abuse. According to the arrest affidavit, police recorded a call …

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POLL: Rubio +2 Over Demings, DeSantis +7 Over Crist

Civiqs Polling reports: Republican Marco Rubio leads Democrat Val Demings 49% to 47% in the race for U.S. Senate in Florida. Rubio is viewed favorably by 41% of Florida likely voters, and unfavorably by 51%. Demings has a similar 40% favorable rating, with 47% unfavorable and 13% who are still unsure about her. In the race for Governor of Florida, …

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FL Petitions SCOTUS To Ban Social Media “Censorship”

The Washington Post reports: Florida’s attorney general on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to decide whether states have the right to regulate how social media companies moderate content on their services, a move that sends one of the most controversial debates of the internet age to the country’s highest court. The petition is a response to a decision by the …

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Florida Threatens Credit Card Companies On Gun Code

Florida Politics reports: If credit card companies say they won’t front suspicious firearm purchases, they can just stop doing business in Florida. At least, that’s the message Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis wants the state to send. The Cabinet member said Florida’s government will act against any credit card companies targeting the right to bear arms. “Our rights come from …

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POLL: DeSantis +8 Over Trump Among FL Republicans

The Hill reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) leads former President Trump in a hypothetical GOP presidential primary for the state by 8 points, according to a new poll, in a reversal from when Trump led by 7 points in January. The USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday found that 48 percent of Florida Republican voters surveyed support DeSantis in …

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Migrants Shipped To Martha’s Vineyard Sue DeSantis

The Hill reports: The group of Venezuelan migrants flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., last week by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) filed a class-action suit against the governor and the state’s transportation secretary on Tuesday. The suit provides a detailed account of how the migrants came to board the two planes allegedly under false pretenses, arguing the relocations …

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Cops: FL Priest And Bookkeeper Embezzled $1.5 Million

West Palm Beach’s ABC affiliate reports: Police said the investigation revealed that the church’s former parish administrator, Deborah True, and former pastor, Richard Murphy, opened a bank account in the name of “Holy Cross Catholic Church” in 2012. Police said bank records show that nearly $1.5 million of parishioners’ donations were fraudulently deposited into the account since 2015. From 2015 …

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Rubio Refuses To Say He’ll Accept Results Of Election

Florida Politics reports: Marco Rubio, Florida’s senior U.S. Senator, is facing his stiffest test in years in Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings. Polling shows the two candidates are in a statistical tie. When asked if he’d accept the outcome of the Nov. 8 election, Rubio joined 11 other GOP candidates — including Gov. Ron DeSantis — declining to answer the …

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DeSantis Rushes To Fox In Wake Of Criminal Probe

Fox News has the transcript: Well, Sean, it’s really frustrating. Because you know, you have been covering this. Millions of people since Biden has been president illegally coming across the southern border. Did they freak out about that? No. You had migrants die in the Rio Grande, you had 50 die in Texas in a trailer because they were being …

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Texas Sheriff Opens Criminal Probe Into Migrant Flight

The Miami Herald reports: Authorities in Texas have opened a criminal investigation into Gov. Ron DeSantis’ operation to fly roughly 50 Venezuela migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last week. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a news release Monday that his office is investigating whether the migrants were the victims of a crime. “The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office …

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