DeSantis injects politics into $115B Florida budget proposal

Gov. Ron DeSantis promised tax relief Wednesday on children’s books, pet food and even the gas stoves that have become a rallying cry for Republicans while assuring that the state has plenty of reserves to withstand any economic downturn. He’s also seeking another $12 million to prevent immigrants in the country illegally from arriving in […]

Woman identified 37 years after she went missing in Florida

Law officers say they’ve identified a woman who went missing in Florida and died in south Georgia after 37 years of not knowing who she is. The woman, who suffered blunt trauma to her head and died after being injured, has been identified as Mary Anga Cowan, who went missing in Seminole County, Florida, in […]

Florida could end unanimous jury requirement for executions

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers proposed legislation making it easier to send convicts to death row by eliminating a unanimous jury requirement in capital punishment sentencing — a response to anger from victims’ families following a verdict sparing a school shooter from execution. The proposal comes after a divided 9-3 jury spared Marjory Stoneman […]

Jacksonville highlights conflicts over local gerrymandering

Not far from the postcard images of Jacksonville — the white sand beaches, the riverfront fountain, the upscale shopping district — is another side of the city. Here, neighborhood roads are pitted with potholes and sometimes unpaved. Weeds swallow abandoned cars in empty lots. Grocery stores are sparse. The people who live in this other […]

Black history AP class rejected in Florida catches on

Compared with her other classes, high school senior Kahlila Bandele said a lesson this week spanning topics from Afro-Caribbean migration to jazz offered a welcome shift in perspective. The discussion in her Advanced Placement course on African American studies touched on figures from Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X to Jimi Hendrix and Rihanna. In her […]

Tom Brady retires, insisting this time it’s for good

Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement. Brady — the most successful quarterback in NFL history and one of the greatest athletes in team sports — posted the announcement on social media Wednesday morning, a brief video lasting just under one minute. “Good morning […]

‘Laverne & Shirley’ actor Cindy Williams dies at 75

Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the beloved sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died. She was 75. Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said […]

Florida ‘Peeping Tom’ is facing prowling charges

A man is facing charges after police say he was caught peeking through the windows of a woman’s home. Surveillance showed the man peering into the home in Debary late at night. According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, they started doing extra patrols when they realized the same man came back to that home […]

Police: 10 wounded in drive-by shooting in Lakeland

Ten people were injured during a drive-by shooting in a Central Florida neighborhood, police said. Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said during a news conference that two of the victims were critically injured Monday afternoon, while the wounds of the other eight victims weren’t considered life-threatening. The victims were males between the ages of 20 […]

Migrants being put aboard a flight to Martha's Vineyard. Credit: CBS

Judge dismisses Florida migrant records case

A Leon County circuit judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the Florida Department of Transportation and a contractor did not fully comply with public records requests about controversial state-funded flights of migrants to Massachusetts. Judge Angela Dempsey last week issued two similar decisions rejecting the lawsuit that the non-profit Florida Center for Government Accountability […]