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Gov. DeSantis urges Americans to defy public-health guidance; attacks Trump on COVID
Gov. Ron DeSantis, back in Florida amid his presidential campaign, urged Americans to defy any new federal public health guidance to wear masks, take vaccines, or engage in social distancing in light of an upsurge in COVID cases and emergence of a new viral variant. The move by DeSantis comes as First Lady Jill Biden […]
All roads converge on FL Supreme Court as justices decide future of abortion rights
The Florida Supreme Court is bracing for a crowd during oral arguments on Friday over the future of abortion rights in the state, as organizations on both sides of that issue planned to wave their flags in the state capital and the whole country will be watching. Meanwhile, Floridians Protecting Freedom, which is circulating petitions […]
A monumental abortion question for FL Supreme Court: How did voters in 1980 define ‘privacy’?
This is the first in a two-article series. Jerri Blair was running a small legal practice in Leesburg in 1989 when she got a call from the court clerk. The state had passed a law requiring minors to obtain parental consent to undergo an abortion unless they could persuade a judge they were mature enough […]
Gov. DeSantis loses first legal round over destruction of Black congressional district
A state trial judge has cited Florida’s long history of discrimination against Black voters in declaring unconstitutional Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to erase the ability of Black voters in the northern part of the state to elect a congressional candidate of their choice. The outcome could determine whether Democrat Al Lawson, a Black man who […]
DeSantis urges evacuations as Hurricane Idalia approaches Gulf Coast landfall
With Hurricane Idalia bearing down on Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis urged people in the projected storm zone to act now to evacuate or prepare for serious damage from high winds and storm surge. “We’re probably going to start feeling some impacts from this, depending on what part of the state you are, later today. You […]
Gov. DeSantis leaves presidential campaign to attend to Tropical Storm Idalia
Gov. Ron DeSantis paused his presidential campaign Sunday, returning to Tallahassee to oversee planning for Tropical Storm Idalia, which forecasters expect to make landfall near the Big Bend area as a hurricane sometime Tuesday. “We’re locked down on this. We’re gonna get the job done. This is important, so people can rest assured,” DeSantis told […]
DeSantis signs emergency declaration as tropical system forms off Mexico
Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 33 counties ahead of a tropical disturbance that could develop into a tropical storm and hit the Gulf Coast of Florida early next week. In a written statement, the governor’s office urged people in the area to get ready by reviewing their disaster preparedness plans […]
Fate of North FL’s Black congressional district in hands of Tallahassee trial judge
Lawyers for the DeSantis administration and Legislature asked a state trial judge Thursday to rule that the federal Voting Rights Act violates the U.S. Constitution to the extent that it allows creation of congressional districts allowing Black voters to win representation in Congress. The outcome could determine whether Democrat Al Lawson, a Black man who […]
DeSantis on Trump skipping GOP primary debate: ‘I think everyone should debate that qualifies’
Gov. Ron DeSantis gently criticized Donald Trump Friday — although not by name — for skipping next week’s scheduled GOP presidential primary debate. DeSantis commented a few hours before Trump, after weeks of playing coy, announced he would not appear next Wednesday in Milwaukee, potentially leaving DeSantis the only presidential candidate from Florida on the […]
Blocks on gender-affirming care cast wide shadows, survey finds
Anti-transgender laws are reverberating throughout the LGBTQ community in the United States, including Florida, with 45% of LGBTQ adults in this state and nearly 43% nationally reporting that these laws have damaged their physical or mental health. Naturally, the damage extends even further within the transgender community, with 80% in Florida and nationally reporting harm […]
Second lawsuit accuses DeSantis administration of breaking faculty contract rights
The DeSantis administration has drawn another lawsuit over legislation abrogating faculty rights to have neutral arbiters review employment decisions, this time on behalf of instructors laid off this summer at the University of South Florida. A 35-page complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee follows a […]
Lawsuit: Profs, students, sue over free speech and academic freedom at New College of FL
Sara Engels is a rising junior at the New College of Florida studying political psychology. She wants to take a class called “Health, Culture, and Societies” this fall but it might not be available under the atmosphere of conservative orthodoxy the DeSantis administration is imposing on public university and college campuses. The class, you see, […]