Tag Archives: Florida

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

Via press release from the Liberty Counsel: The Alabama Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that an embryo created through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is a “minor child” and is no different under the law from an unborn child in the womb. Due to the 2018 Sanctity of Unborn Life Amendment in the state’s constitution, which declares it is “public policy” in Alabama …

Miami’s CBS affiliate reports: The Florida Department of Health is carrying out an epidemiological investigation surrounding the multiple cases of measles at a Broward County elementary school over the weekend. DOH-Broward announced on Sunday that it is investigating the cases in response to the four reported cases that appeared at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston over the weekend. “Please …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: A Florida Panhandle lawmaker has filed the “Right to Rock Act.” Rep. Joel Rudman, R-Navarre, wants to prohibit the cancellation of performances because of an artist’s social media comments or their political affiliation. HB 15 would forbid entertainment venues that have accepted taxpayer funding to cancel contracts for a live presentation by a singer, musicians, dancers, …

Florida Politics reports: A Miami-Dade County woman is running a GoFundMe page to help former President Donald Trump cover a $355 million civil court judgment. Elena Cardone, an Aventura resident, launched the page Friday to assist Trump in facing an “unprecedented and unfair treatment by certain judicial elements in New York.” By 3 p.m. Sunday, the page recorded 6,300 donations …

Florida Politics reports: The three Rs (reading, writin’, and arithmetic) are slated to have a new addition soon in public schools: religion. The Senate legislation (SB 1044) is slated to be heard in Tuesday morning’s Appropriations Committee on Education. That bill, sponsored by Sen. Erin Grall, would “authorize volunteer school chaplains to provide support, services, and programs to students as …

The Florida Trident reports: The Sarasota Police Department today released the audio recording of its interview with Moms for Liberty co-founder and Sarasota County School Board Member Bridget Ziegler in the now-closed rape investigation of her husband, former Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler. “We are looking at an allegation of sexual assault by your husband,” Det. Maria Llovio informed Bridget …

Florida Politics reports: A bill to make it easier for Florida residents to kill bears without fear of punishment is bound for Senate consideration after clearing the Legislature’s lower chamber amid ample opposition. The measure (HB 87), dubbed the “Self Defense Act,” drew sharp criticism as it advanced through the committee process this Session, and it did not escape the …