COVID-19
Brevard School Board member Jennifer Jenkins ‘considering’ a run for U.S. Senate
As the Florida Democratic Party continues to search for candidates to challenge GOP U.S. Senate incumbent Rick Scott next year in his bid for re-election, Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins’s name has popped up as an emerging possibility. In an interview with the Phoenix on Friday, the 36-year-old said she will support any […]
DeSantis comes out against World Health Organization’s pandemic treaty talks
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday denounced moves led by the World Health Organization to devise a strategy to respond to future pandemics, accusing President Joe Biden of attempting to use that process to “institutionalize lockdown policies.” “He wants to take this WHO treaty and he wants to impose that on the American people. That is […]
Gov. DeSantis signs the most restrictive bill on illegal immigration in the country
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed what both he and his critics agree is the strongest anti-illegal immigration bill passed by any state legislature in the country on Wednesday. Speaking in Jacksonville behind a podium with a sign reading, “Biden’s Border Crisis,” the governor blasted the president for the large influx of undocumented immigrants that has occurred […]
Florida Senate confirms surgeon general, but every Democrat voted against the doctor
The GOP-controlled Florida Senate on Thursday confirmed Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo for another term as the state’s top doctor, though all Democrats in the Senate voted against Ladapo. State Sen. Tina Polsky, of South Florida, pleaded to her colleagues to oppose the confirmation because of serious concerns about Ladapo’s “scientific integrity.” But the confirmation […]
Long COVID is hurting business; workplace accommodations could help
Three years after the start of the pandemic, millions of working age people still suffer from long COVID-19 and some lawmakers and advocates, including people with long COVID, say not enough is being done to protect their well-being and ensure they can continue to be employed. Proposed federal legislation, better workplace accommodations, and more federal […]
GOP lawmakers push for sweeping bans on COVID-19 vaccines and tests, plus face mask requirements
Florida GOP lawmakers are looking to restrict face mask coverings, proof of COVID-19 vaccinations and COVID-19 tests at private businesses, governmental agencies and public and private schools, based on “discrimination” — though Democrats have argued that the safety of others need to be in consideration as well. The bill, HB 1013, states that “it is […]
Moderna plan to hike COVID vaccine price to $130 a dose rebuked at U.S. Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — The CEO of Moderna on Wednesday defended the company’s decision to drastically increase the price of its COVID-19 vaccine later this year, arguing that an expected drop in demand, changes to its distribution process and the overall benefit of the vaccine warrant the higher cost. That decision was met with bipartisan condemnation from […]
Biden signs bill declassifying information on the origin of COVID-19
WASHINGTON — The U.S. director of national intelligence has three months to declassify information on potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19, after President Joe Biden signed legislation Monday. The bill was one of the first Biden has signed since a 118th Congress split between the two parties began […]
Ladapo defends COVID stance against criticism from federal health authorities
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is standing by his controversial opinions about COVID-19 vaccines and precautions even in the face of a rebuke by federal public health officials. Ladapo, with strong support from Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been insisting that those same authorities have been playing down adverse reactions to the mNRA vaccines, developed to […]
Congress unanimously votes to require declassified information on COVID-19 origins
WASHINGTON — The divided 118th Congress approved its first bill Friday, after lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted unanimously to send President Joe Biden legislation that would require declassification of intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. The four-page bill, which the House voted 419-0 to clear, would require the Director of National Intelligence to “declassify […]
Lawmakers hear theories on COVID-19 origins in U.S. House hearing
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans mostly agreed Wednesday that scientists and the intelligence community should fully investigate the origins of COVID-19 without political interference over whether the virus emerged from nature or through a lab leak. Members from both political parties said throughout the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing that determining […]
DeSantis makes a case to let unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic play in Miami
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is unable to participate in the Miami Open tournament that begins later this month because he remains unvaccinated – a requirement that Gov. Ron DeSantis thinks is absurd. “It is wrong to discriminate against somebody based on the choice they’ve made regarding this,” the Republican governor said at the end of […]