WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States will retaliate after Iran shot down a U.S. Army Apache helicopter late Monday over the Strait of Hormuz, and that the two American pilots aboard were unharmed. Trump announced the cause of the helicopter’s downing in a Truth Social post just before 1 p.m. Eastern. […]

WASHINGTON — Congress must act to shore up Social Security during the next six years to avoid an automatic drop-off in benefits in 2032, according to a report released Tuesday. The annual update on the Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund shows that it will “become depleted” in the fourth quarter of that year, […]

Tampa Bay area Democratic state Sen. Darryl Rouson, the longest-serving member of the Florida Legislature, announced Tuesday he will not run for the House District 62 seat later this year but will be stepping down after 18 years in office in Tallahassee and take a position at New College of Florida. Rouson, 70, served for […]

The Auburn University Board of Trustees Friday dissolved the university’s faculty senate and replaced it with a body appointed by university officials, a move that drew criticism from educators at the school. The board also voted to implement a new policy giving the board and university officials more direct control of the curriculum. Auburn University […]

Since Idaho’s abortion bans took effect almost four years ago, an Idaho doctor says he’s had to send patients out of state for medically necessary abortions for a range of pregnancy complications under which he used to be able to provide abortions. Dr. Stacy Seyb, who treats high-risk pregnancies as a maternal fetal medicine specialist, […]

Acting as the newly created State Board of Immigration Enforcement, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday approved more than $87 million in immigration reimbursements for 56 local law enforcement agencies, most of it for radios and AI policing systems. The unanimous vote sends money from a $250 million state grant to fight […]

By Elena Tittel/Medill News Service WASHINGTON – A North Carolina jury convicted a man for carjacking a truck from a McDonald’s parking lot by holding something “cold and hard” on the driver’s neck. A federal appeals court overturned the conviction in 2016, citing insufficient evidence. “The evidence was insufficient to support a rational finding beyond […]

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will allow states to access federal citizenship data by June 30 and plans to monitor the flow of mail ballots for signs of voter fraud, according to a court document. Amid a series of lawsuits, President Donald Trump’s administration is now moving to carry out a March 31 executive order […]

Trulieve Cannabis Co., Florida’s largest marijuana provider and one of the biggest in the nation, has been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Voting shares are expected to begin trading on the NYSE floor under the ticker symbol TRLV on Wednesday morning. When that happens, it will have become the first […]

Carrie Frail was in the process of leaving an abusive relationship when she discovered she was pregnant. Her partner told her he could hit her in the stomach until she had a miscarriage, and it would save some money. “I firmly believe he would have killed me at some point, whether accidentally or intentionally,” Frail […]

Florida’s junior U.S. senator, Ashley Moody has been a consistent supporter of the Trump administration since she was appointed to her seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2025. However, she broke with the administration last week in a vote on an amendment regarding the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund criticized by both Democratic and Republican […]

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon changed course Monday after its removal of dozens of religious denominations from a list of recognized faiths drew intense criticism over the weekend from Utah Republicans incensed by the failure to classify the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian denomination. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a member of […]

The Florida Democratic Party now has some competition in the race to produce a challenger to Republican Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia in November. Former Miami-Dade County Democratic state Sen. Annette Taddeo announced her candidacy on Monday. “Florida families are getting crushed. Your homeowner’s insurance bill doubled. Then tripled. And the politicians in Tallahassee? They […]

A public stadium shouldn’t host rapper and producer Kanye West, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said Thursday. In a letter to the Tampa Sports Authority, the government organization that operates Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Scott urged the authority board to “carefully review this decision” of hosting the rapper, for shows June 26 and 28. “West’s […]

Former state Senator Shevrin Jones is running to succeed eight-term U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson in Congressional District 24, according to paperwork filed Thursday morning. “It’s filed and live,” Jones, a 42-year-old Miami Gardens native, told the Phoenix. A Democrat, Jones launched his bid to replace the same-party Wilson one week after she announced her retirement […]

Polk State College trustees unanimously approved Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas as its next leader. He will start in the role July 6. “I am grateful for the overwhelming support from the District Board of Trustees, Presidential Search Committee and College community,” Kamoutsas said in a Wednesday news release from the college after the vote. “I […]

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 […]

GAINESVILLE—Stuart Bell, the lone finalist to be the next president of University of Florida, aimed to avoid the fate of the previous solo finalist for the position by pledging allegiance to the conservative higher education policies storming Florida campuses. During an afternoon of faculty, staff, and student forums Wednesday, Bell, the former president of the […]

Gov. Ron DeSantis is “very good” and has bestowed a “great honor” upon Donald Trump by renaming the airport neighboring Mar-a-Lago after him, the 47th president said Wednesday. Trump’s praise for the Florida governor — previously rare for his former presidential opponent — comes one week after state lawmakers agreed to spend $2.75 million to […]

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 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 […]

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…

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 — 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]