Tag Archives: Florida

DeSantis: FL’s State-Run Home Insurer Is “Not Solvent”

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is telling the nation that people in his state shouldn’t rely on the state-run insurer of last resort, raising new questions about Citizens Property Insurance ahead of what is expected to be a robust hurricane season. “It is not solvent and we can’t have millions of people on that because if a storm hits, …

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Wasserman-Schultz Calls For Ousting “Super-Spreader” Florida Surgeon General As Measles Outbreak Widens

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz held a press conference on school safety measures Tuesday and called for the replacement of Florida’s surgeon general — as the measles outbreak in South Florida continues to expand. She called for the termination of Dr. Joseph Ladapo and for Governor DeSantis to replace him with a public health expert, following the …

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FL Bill To Cap THC In Legal Weed Dies In Committee

Florida Politics reports: An effort to cap THC levels in marijuana if Florida voters legal it for adult personal use is dead this Legislative Session. The Senate Health Policy Committee bill (SB 7050) emerged earlier this month in the upper chamber. The effort had moved out of its first stop on a 7-3 vote. Just as that committee declined to …

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Junior Gets Death Threat, White Powder At FL Home

NBC News reports: Authorities in Palm Beach County, Florida, responded to Donald Trump Jr.’s home Monday after he was sent an envelope containing a death threat and white powder. The response by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue was first reported by The Daily Beast. A spokesperson for the former president’s son confirmed the incident to NBC News. The spokesperson said …

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Florida GOP Kills Defamation Bill Feared By Right Wing

Florida Politics reports: The Senate will not consider a controversial defamation bill. For the second year in a row, the bill effectively hit a wall in the upper chamber despite signs of life in the House. With fewer than two weeks left in the Legislative Session, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s Office signaled there is no appetite for the bill. “No. …

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Justices Skeptical Of Laws Against Social Media Bans

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court seemed troubled on Monday by a Florida law that prohibits social media companies from disfavoring conservative speakers, at least to the extent that it bars major platforms like Facebook and YouTube from making editorial judgments. But several justices indicated that the sprawling law may be constitutional as applied to other sites like …

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More Measles Cases Reported At FL Elementary School

USA Today reports: Two more Florida children have contracted measles after the state’s top health official defied federal guidance to contain an outbreak at an elementary school. Six children at Manatee Bay Elementary School, in Westin near Fort Lauderdale, caught the disease over a week ago. New state health data show two more cases in Broward County, of a child …

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Today: SCOTUS Hears Laws Against Social Media Bans

Vox reports: In mid-2021, about a year before he began his longstanding feud with the biggest employer in his state, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation attempting to seize control of content moderation at major social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter (now called X by Elon Musk). A few months later, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also …

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Measles Outbreak Continues Spread At Florida School

NBC News reports: The Florida measles outbreak is expanding. On Friday, health officials in Broward County confirmed a seventh case of the virus, a child under age 5. The patient is the youngest so far to be infected in the outbreak, and the first to be identified outside of Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, near Fort Lauderdale. It’s unknown …

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Florida CFO Backs Elon Musk For Nobel Peace Prize

Florida Politics reports: Elon Musk’s free speech advocacy and use of Starlink satellites to help hurricane victims in Florida mean he should receive the Nobel Peace Prize, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Patronis wrote to the Sweden-based Nobel Foundation on Friday to throw his support behind Musk’s nomination, which Norwegian lawmaker Marius Nilsen floated earlier in the …

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Prominent Cultists Back Money Beg Claiming Florida Man Had First Amendment Right To Destroy Crosswalk

The Palm Beach Post reports: The 19-year-old Florida man who vandalized the LGBTQ crosswalk in Delray Beach earlier this month is becoming a hero among Donald-Trump-supporting political activists. One poster photo-shopped Dylan Brewer’s head on the body of Superman. GiveSendGo, which purports to “share the hope of Jesus through crowdfunding” is trying to raise $100,000 in donations for Brewer’s legal …

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DeSantis Gets Bill Banning Minors From Social Media

Florida Politics reports: Florida’s Republican-led Legislature passed a sweeping bill Thursday in Tallahassee that would ban all kids under 16 from using social media — even with a parent’s permission — and would require everyone else in the Sunshine State to prove they are adults to continue using their online accounts. The Senate voted 23-14 to pass the bill, a …

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Florida House Approves Chaplains For Public Schools, Bill’s “Tongues-Speaking Exorcist” Sponsor Celebrates

Florida Politics reports: Bipartisan legislation that could put religious figures in your child’s classroom passed the House by an 89-25 margin, after a spirited debate in which one of the sponsors called herself a “Holy Roller” and said she “casts out devils.” HB 931, sponsored by Republican Rep. Stan McClain and Democratic Rep. Kim Daniels [photo], would “authorize volunteer school …

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FL Rep: Letting Parents Consent To Kids Using Social Media Is Like Letting Them Consent To Kids’ Drug Use

Florida Politics reports: The Senate continues to adjust a controversial ban on social media for Floridians under age 16. But legislation (HB 1) ready for a vote in the Senate still doesn’t allow parents final say whether kids can log into platforms. Sen. Erin Grall, a Fort Pierce Republican, said the state needs to treat access to addictive platforms the …

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Newsmax CEO Condemns Florida Defamation Bill

The Daily Beast reports: Newsmax has joined the legions of conservative media outlets and figures who have trashed a pair of Florida GOP bills that ostensibly aim to curb so-called “liberal media” by loosening the definition of defamation. “Newsmax strongly opposes both bills and any proposed law that makes it easy to sue media companies,” Chris Ruddy, Newsmax’s CEO, said …

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FL Surgeon General: It’s Up To Parents Of Unvaxxed If Children Should Attend Class During Measles Outbreak

The Daily Beast reports: While measles cases are popping up across the country, nowhere has been hit as hard as Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, just west of Fort Lauderdale. There, a single case reported Thursday spiraled into a half-dozen infected students by Tuesday evening. John J. Sullivan, a spokesperson for Broward County Public Schools, said the school underwent …

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FL Advances Defamation Bill That Even The Right Fears

Florida Politics reports: A third and final House committee has advanced a contentious defamation bill. But one critic testified the legislation will help its sponsor bring forward lawsuits against anyone criticizing his political allies. At a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Milton gun shop owner Chris Smith discussed a lawsuit filed against his business. Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker filed …

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Charges Dropped Against Florida Family Accused Of Beating Gay Man Dating Their Son, Victim Is Now Blind

The Associated Press reports: South Florida prosecutors dropped criminal charges on Tuesday against a couple and their adult son who had been accused of severely beating a man who had been in a relationship with the son. Yevhen Makarenko, his wife, Inna, and their son Oleh had each been charged with attempted murder, burglary and kidnapping in the August 2021 …

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11% Unvaxxed In Florida School’s Measles Outbreak

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Officials with Broward County Public Schools announced a fifth confirmed measles case at an elementary school in Weston Monday. The additional case at Manatee Bay Elementary School, located at 19200 Manatee Isles Drive, adds to the four reported since Friday. The Florida Department of Health is working to track down the origin of the case cluster. …

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Christian Networks Beg Florida: Drop Defamation Bill

Florida Politics reports: A national group of Christian broadcasters is asking lawmakers not to pass legislation that would make it easier to sue journalists and news outlets for defamation. Michael Farris [photo], general counsel for National Religious Broadcasters, wrote a letter to House Speaker Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, on Monday asking him to drop HB 757. He called …

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