The explorers of Florida found the lonely expanse of the Everglades to be downright f-f-f-f-frightening. “The bog is fearful,” one wrote during an 1892 expedition that took 21 days. “No island visible except the one we are making for — all saw grass and glades.” These days, crossing the Glades is as easy as paying […]

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun declared June “nuclear family month” in a proclamation issued Monday — the first day of nationally recognized Pride month. The document proclaims the nuclear family, “consisting of one husband, one wife, and any … children, is God’s design for the family structure and has been the foundation of society since the […]

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has scrapped plans to use nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer dollars to pay people who believe they were wrongly prosecuted by the Justice Department — a proposal that halted work on legislation to fund immigration and deportation activities. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified Tuesday before a House committee the […]

House Speaker Daniel Perez in his parting remarks to members Tuesday emphasized the importance of standing firm, while Senate President Ben Albritton emphasized love. As of now, Tuesday was probably the last meeting of the 2024-2026 Florida Legislature, convened in special session to pass Gov. Ron DeSantis plan to slash property taxes. The sessions were […]

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appeared before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Homeland Security panel Tuesday and defended his threats to cripple international air travel into some cities led by Democrats. Democratic senators on the panel also pressed Mullin about aggressive immigration tactics from federal officers; whether the department would follow court orders from…

The increasing costs of fuel for cars and airplanes is adding extra strain to abortion funds that help people pay to travel for care in other states, leaders of several funds said this week. Abortion funds can help when someone must travel from their home state to a state where care is available. That often […]

Florida voters will be asked to sharply curtail the property taxes cities and counties rely upon under a far-reaching resolution championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved Tuesday by a supermajority of the Florida Legislature. The proposed constitutional amendment must get a “yes” vote from 60% of voters in the November elections to become law. […]

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is scheduled to hold a hearing later this month to consider the broader federal rescheduling of cannabis. The move follows U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche’s order from April to immediately reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Although some observers have said that the direct effects of rescheduling […]

The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent decision to downgrade the drug classification for medical cannabis will help medical marijuana businesses. Companies will be able to claim some federal tax benefits. New research can start up at state universities. But the broader divide between federal and state marijuana policy remains largely intact, leaving states to navigate […]

WASHINGTON — Transgender military members won a temporary victory against the Trump administration in federal appeals court Monday when two judges ruled a policy banning them from service violated their constitutional right to equal protection under the law. Judges Judith W. Rogers and Robert L. Wilkins for the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of […]

Coloradans who have been harmed by the discredited psychological treatment known as “conversion therapy” can sue for damages through the state’s medical malpractice law under a bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Monday. Polis also signed an executive order prohibiting state funds from being used to pay for the practice. “People shouldn’t be ripped […]

Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on Monday used the new freedom granted to her by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to promptly renew her baseless allegations of widespread election fraud, casting doubt on the legitimacy of recent Democratic victories and the upcoming midterm elections. Peters, 70, was convicted in August 2024 on multiple felony counts […]

New data show the need for support for women seeking the procedure has nearly doubled in the four years following reversal of Roe v. Wade, with the number of calls for assistance reaching 158,000 in 2025, up from 82,000 calls in 2022. Since 2024, abortion funding costs have increased by 30% and costs for travel […]

Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to Brazil. That news came Monday via a press release from the White House. Perez has represented parts of Miami-Dade County in the Florida House since he was elected in a special election in 2017, and has served […]

OpenAI should’ve known the damage its chatbot would cause, the state argues in a lawsuit against ChatGPT’s creators. In an 83-page filing in state circuit court in Highlands County, the Florida Department of Legal Affairs and Attorney General James Uthmeier laid ChatGPT’s rollout and management side-by-side with instances in which the technology has been consulted […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund appeared to be on shaky ground Monday as he continued to face opposition from his own party. Trump had not yet made a public announcement by late afternoon, but several media outlets reported the president planned to possibly drop the fund to clear the way […]

The Florida Legislature is moving quickly to put into play a revamped proposal pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to drastically reduce property taxes, homestead and otherwise, with potential final passage as early as Tuesday. Top legislative Republicans in the House and Senate altered the plan Monday to exempt from reduction or potential elimination the property […]

In at least four states, migrants detained in ICE facilities have launched hunger strikes in recent weeks to protest the conditions in which they are being held. An ongoing hunger and labor strike at the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall facility in Newark, New Jersey, reportedly involves roughly 300 people and has sparked daily protests outside the […]

President Donald Trump’s extraordinary $1.776 billion fund to pay off allies and others who say they have been wronged by past administrations has drawn widespread condemnation by opponents, including some Republicans, who characterize it as an act of brazen corruption. But the Trump administration’s push to reward its supporters also harkens back to an earlier era […]

Vaccine hesitancy fed by misinformation is causing new surges of measles and whooping cough, while COVID-19 hotspots persist in some states and a new threat looms from an Ebola outbreak in central Africa. Nationally there have been 1,983 measles cases this year, nearly the 2,288 total for all of 2025, which in itself was the […]

City and county governments would face major reductions in revenues for essential services if Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to substantially cut homeowners’ property taxes is approved by lawmakers and then 60% of the public as a constitutional amendment later this year. Advocates for local governments in Florida held emergency “webinars” Monday morning ahead of this […]

“Et tu, Brute?” – William Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar” Those who believe in free and fair elections and the rule of law in Florida and elsewhere across the United States are reeling after five conservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on April 29 that neuters Section 2 of the landmark Voting Rights […]

Florida has a budget. Finally. It is not, however, a thing of beauty. There’s $725,000 for an “education” company connected to former Florida Man and current ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee for materials preaching anti-communism. Propaganda, in other words. This outfit also produces lessons called “The Kids’ Guide to How the Bible Built America.” There’s […]

In the heart of the Bible Belt, a small Methodist college graduated its final class in May 2024, shutting its doors after 168 years. Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, was a Christian private liberal arts school that counted among its graduates members of Congress, famous musicians, Pulitzer Prize winners and the former executive editor of […]

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund has attracted scrutiny for its corruption potential, even splitting congressional Republicans who rarely confront President Donald Trump’s decisions and policies. Among the top concerns: Could pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, riot defendants who assaulted police officers claim a slice of the pie and essentially be…

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a fund that opponents fear will be used to pay off the president’s political allies. Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a brief order halting the Department of Justice, the Treasury Department and other high-ranking administration officials from […]

The Trump administration has paid Florida $58 million for operating the Everglades immigrant detention center called “Alligator Alcatraz,” the first of promised federal reimbursements set to flow into the state. The payment came in on May 18, three days after the Federal Emergency Management Agency told Florida’s emergency managers that $58 million of the promised […]

South Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who has represented parts of North Miami-Dade and south Broward counties since 2010, announced Friday that she will not run for re-election this year. The 83-year-old member of Congress had denied a report published last week that she was about to step down from her seat representing Florida’s […]

WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Pam Bondi was on Capitol Hill Friday for a closed door interview with lawmakers about her role in the release of the federal investigation files of Jeffrey Epstein — the now deceased wealthy sex offender who surrounded himself with influential entrepreneurs, academics and celebrities, including President Donald Trump. But Democrats […]

The U.S. Postal Service on Friday took its first major step to carry out President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, proposing a rule that would require states to submit lists of voters before mailing ballots. But the proposed rule appears to smooth over some of the rougher edges of the executive order, […]