Tag Archives: Florida

Gainesville’s ABC affiliate reports: Following a trial process, in which 37-year-old Neely Raye Pesognellie Petrie-Blanchard represented herself in her murder trial of 50-year-old Christopher Hallett, jurors deliberated on Friday, April 19, 2024, for roughly 30 minutes before finding Petrie-Blanchard guilty of Murder in the First-Degree with a Firearm. Witnesses revealed that Petrie-Blanchard stated something to the effect of “You’re hurting …

Florida Politics reports: President Joe Biden will appear in Tampa on April 23, a week ahead of the state implementing a strict abortion ban six weeks into pregnancy. That’s no coincidence. Officials with the Biden-Kamala Harris campaign reiterated to press ahead of the visit that the new law makes Florida a battleground, regardless of solid GOP performance here in recent …

The Miami Herald reports: Some of the 49 migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard by the state of Florida are now able to legally work in the United States and have temporary protections from deportation — because they are considered victims of a potential crime, their attorney says. The migrants are eligible for these protections because they applied for a special …

The Christian Post reports: The Satanic Temple has challenged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a debate on religious freedom in America after the governor said this week that Satanists can’t be part of a recently approved chaplains program for public schools. DeSantis signed House Bill 931 into law on Thursday, allowing school districts and charter schools to “adopt a policy …

Florida Politics reports: Lake Alfred City Commissioner Charles Lake has been arrested on charges of possessing child pornography. An arrest affidavit shows Polk County Sheriff’s deputies served a warrant at Lake’s home. Lake, documents show, confessed to police that he was in possession of child pornography, including many images kept on a “Patriot” USB drive. The Lake Alfred Republican now …

Florida Politics reports: K-12 students are one step closer to getting some lessons from designated “patriotic” groups after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on allowing certain groups access to K-12 campuses. Rep. Wyman Duggan’s bill (HB 1317) allows representatives of so-called “patriotic organizations” time to meet with students and distribute recruitment materials, with schools providing designated time for these groups …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Satanic Temple members are planning on taking advantage of a bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Thursday that allows volunteer chaplains to provide support services for public K-12 students. But DeSantis says that’s not going to happen. “Some have said that if you do a school chaplain program, that somehow you’re going to have Satanists running around …

Florida Politics reports: The wrongs committed by the Soviets, the Chinese and other communist regimes will be discussion fodder for students in the Sunshine State going forward. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed off on SB 1264, a “History of Communism” bill. The location and timing of the signing was no coincidence: the Hialeah Gardens Museum. The facility honors the 2506 …

The New York Times reports: Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat who as a little-known state senator cleaned stables and waited on tables in a clever populist strategy that helped to boost him into the governorship, the United States Senate and a run for the presidency, has died. He was 87. His daughter Gwen Graham posted a family statement on social …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Florida residents who don’t have children attending school will have significantly fewer chances to challenge books in local K-12 libraries under a new law signed Tuesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Residents who don’t have a child in school will only be able to challenge one title per month under the new law. Meant to curb what …

Newsweek reports: Former congressman Madison Cawthorn reportedly crashed his vehicle into a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) cruiser on Monday. Alethea Shapiro shared on X, formerly Twitter, that she was driving on I-75 toward Miami at around 4:30 p.m. when a black sports car began tailgating her. “I ignored it, assuming the person would go around me if they were so …

Florida Politics reports: Sen. Rick Scott’s position on abortion continues to get scrutiny as he runs for a second term, with the former Governor distancing himself on the record from a law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in 2023. “If I was writing a bill, I think 15 weeks is where the state is,” Scott said in an interview that ran …

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill Friday stripping citizen oversight boards of their power to investigate police misconduct. The bill, HB 601, instead allows local chiefs of police agencies to create their own “civilian oversight” boards composed of three to seven members, all appointed by the chief or sheriff. But these boards can only …

Florida Politics reports: Florida cities and counties will be barred from requiring businesses to give water breaks or other “cooling measures” to employees who work outside after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 433. The measure also removes the power of local governments to require contractors to pay higher wages, or use higher pay as an incentive in awarding bids. The …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Four out of 10 Florida voters support a referendum that would enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution, a poll showed Thursday, far short of the 60% majority needed for passage. The Emerson College Polling survey found 42% of voters said they support the amendment. Another 25% said they would vote no. The fate of the …

CNN reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told donors and supporters at an appreciation retreat over the weekend that he would help fundraise for former presidential rival Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the details told CNN. “He’s committed to helping Trump in any and every way,” said Texas businessman Roy Bailey, who attended the retreat. “We are going to follow …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: While family and friends distributed posters of a missing Republican Party of Florida executive director last week, he was holed up in a Hampton Inn, where authorities say he trashed his room. George Riley Jr., who was reunited with his family this weekend, was kicked out of a room at the Hampton Inn in Kissimmee …

The Daily Beast reports: The sister of Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn and a band of conservative anti-vax activists are running for the board of a renowned public hospital in Florida under the banner of “medical freedom.” If they win, they’ll hold a majority over Sarasota’s award-winning facility where one of their allies—elected in 2022 with two other …

“The word ‘Christian’ means ‘Like Christ,’ and it was given to the followers of Christ because they acted just like Jesus. Remember those bracelets from the 2000s that asked, ‘WWJD?’ If Jesus Christ led Trinity, would HE have an Autism Awareness Week? Of course not! Why? Because anything that exalts itself above the name of Christ should be brought down. …

Via press release from the Florida Highway Patrol: Today, Florida Highway Patrol Troopers responded to a report of an active shooter in Holmes County. The suspect was reportedly a female who had recently checked out of a local hotel and told the staff she was going on a shooting spree, directed by “God” in relation to the solar eclipse. The …