Florida voters asked to scrap one way to amend constitution

Florida voters are deciding whether to get rid of a commission that meets every 20 years to recommend changes to the state constitution, the only such panel among the U.S. states that refers amendments directly to a statewide ballot. Opponents of the Constitution Revision Commission say it has gone beyond its original mandate, lacks accountability […]

Musk takes over Twitter and faces social media crash course

Twitter’s newly minted owner, the self-described “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk, is about to get a crash course on global content moderation. Among his first moves after completing his $44 billion takeover Thursday was to fire the social media platform’s top executives, including the woman in charge of trust and safety at the platform, Vijaya […]

Suspect in assault at Pelosi home had posted about QAnon

The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories. David DePape, 42, grew up […]

Southwest Florida’s jobless numbers impacted by Ian

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, Florida continues to see its highest numbers of jobless claims in more than a year, with some Southwest Florida resorts announcing large temporary layoffs. The U.S. Department of Labor released a report Thursday that said Florida had 9,077 first-time unemployment claims during the week that ended Oct. 22, putting […]

Florida voters asked to scrap one way to amend constitution

Florida voters are deciding whether to get rid of a commission that meets every 20 years to recommend changes to the state constitution, the only such panel among the U.S. states that refers amendments directly to a statewide ballot. Opponents of the Constitution Revision Commission say it has gone beyond its original mandate, lacks accountability […]

University of Florida faculty vote no-confidence in process to pick Sasse

University of Florida faculty members expressed their displeasure Thursday with Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse being named as the lone finalist for the school’s presidency. The Faculty Senate approved a no-confidence vote on the selection process by a margin of 67-15, the Gainesville Sun reported. The Senate held an emergency meeting on the resolution, as […]

Florida ‘Cat Fund’ eyes $10B in Ian losses

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (commonly known as the “Cat Fund”), a state program that provides critical backup coverage to property insurers, is estimated to have $10 billion in losses from Hurricane Ian, officials said Wednesday. The program will be able to handle Ian’s financial hit, though it will go into the 2023 hurricane season […]

Powerball jackpot leaps to estimated $800 million, its second-biggest ever

The already massive Powerball jackpot keeps on growing and now has hit an estimated $800 million — its second-biggest ever and fifth-largest in U.S. lottery history. No winning tickets were sold for Wednesday night’s Powerball jackpot of about $700 million, the game’s biggest this year. So for Saturday night’s drawing, the grand prize will be […]

python

Florida 19-year-old captures 28 Burmese pythons, gets top prize

A 19-year-old South Florida man captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology. Matthew Concepcion was among the 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada and Latvia who participated in the annual challenge, which removed 231 of the unwanted […]

Cooper City man wins $1M playing Florida Lottery scratch-off game

A Cooper City man won $1 million playing the Florida Lottery’s 500X THE CASH scratch-off game. David Thomas, 55, chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $820,000.00. Thomas bought his winning ticket at a Publix store, located at 5656 South Flamingo Road. The store will receive a $2,000 bonus for selling the winning […]