Florida students who were traumatized by the 2018 Parkland school shooting — and last week’s deadly shooting at Florida State University — are urging lawmakers in the Republican-controlled statehouse not to roll back gun restrictions they passed in the wake of the killing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a set of new laws aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration in Florida.

DeSantis previously said he wanted a special session to address immigration issues, but another issue that is on the minds of many Floridians is what some are calling a “property insurance crisis.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference Wednesday morning in South Florida.

For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity.

Dozens of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered at the Town Center in Jacksonville Saturday at 4 p.m. to continue to plea for a ceasefire amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

Faith and non-faith leaders gathered Monday at the state capitol to rally against the six-week abortion ban.

The Florida Senate on Wednesday moved the state closer to a ban on abortions after 15 weeks.

Florida’s surgeon general is calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to get out of the way and allow states to acquire more monoclonal antibody treatments.

The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks.

Florida lawmakers have begun debating a package of bills to combat coronavirus vaccine mandates, continuing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fight against virus rules.

Some top Florida Republican lawmakers have now said they would support constitutional carry legislation in the upcoming session.

Minimum wage workers in Florida will get a voter-approved pay boost this week, while about two dozen new laws kick in, including a regulatory framework for electronic cigarettes.

The president of the Florida Senate said state legislators will consider a similar bill to Texas’ controversial new abortion law.

Tens of thousands of out-of-work Floridians will lose an additional $300 a week in unemployment benefits after Friday.

The Florida Legislature dedicated the highest amount in 12 years to affordable housing, but it’s a far cry from the amount had money not been diverted

“Now, with this legislation, Florida businesses can predict their COVID-19-related litigation risks, remain viable and continue to contribute to the state’s economic recovery and well-being,” said Feeney, a former House speaker. But they would be required to prove that the health care providers’ actions were grossly negligent, which is a higher legal threshold than normal. Health care providers that substantially complied with authoritative or applicable government-issued health standards or guidance related to COVID-19 would also have immunity. The Florida Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes, and the Florida Hospital Association followed with similar requests asking for protections from civil and criminal lawsuits. DeSantis maintains that a fear of lawsuits has made nursing home operators afraid to reopen their doors to visitors.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Bills have been filed in 25 states across the country, including Florida, seeking to ban transgender women from competing in women’s school sports. The legislation, which would prevent transgender women from competing in women’s sports, follows multiple instances of transgender athletes winning titles in state and national competitions. The House version of the bill would ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports outright, whereas the Senate version would allow transgender athletes to compete provided they maintain a low testosterone level. AdEskamani said even though there are some restrictions in place for transgender athletes on the professional stage, she believes policies concerning children and student-athletes should be treated differently. In Connecticut, there is an ongoing federal lawsuit challenging whether allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports violates Title IX, a federal civil rights law that aims to shield people from gender-based discrimination.

TALLAHASSEE – The first two bills of the 2021 legislative session have been cleared through the House chamber, and they’re both COVID-related. Lawmakers spent most of their time debating liability protections for businesses to shield them from COVID-related lawsuits. There could still be a bumpy road ahead for the legislation, as the Senate is considering consolidating healthcare liability protections and those for businesses. AdThe House also voted to increase penalties on scammers who trick people into paying for fake vaccine appointments. Unlike the liability bill, that legislation passed with unanimous support.

“People are calling my office desperate, yelling, screaming,” State Sen. Lori Berman said. Based on the last reported numbers, there were more than 40,000 Floridians classified as being overdue for their second shot. To the dismay of some lawmakers, the health department decided Wednesday to stop publishing those statistics. “No one is overdue for their second dose, but rather, will be eligible for their second dose,” he said. “So that we can provide clarity and comfort and answers to Floridians that are waiting their turn,” Eskamani said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State and local law enforcement agencies in Tallahassee are bracing for potential protests at the Florida Capitol this weekend and early next week, although officials say there are no specific threats right now. Local officials have ordered city hall in downtown Tallahassee and the nearby Leon County Courthouse to be closed on Jan. 19 and 20, the day of Biden’s inauguration. Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil is one of the local law enforcement officials who requested the closures. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is “aware of the information regarding possible protests and violence at state capitols,” the state agency said in a prepared statement issued Tuesday. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that law enforcement “reinforcements” will be on hand if anyone plans to participate in armed protests at the state Capitol.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Abortion opponents will seek approval during this year’s legislative session of a bill that would prevent abortions beyond five months of pregnancy. The bill, which was announced in an online news conference Wednesday, has not been filed but is being called the Florida Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. “Just because we haven’t passed this critical legislation when it’s been attempted before, doesn’t mean we can’t get it done,” Borrero said. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t begin to recognize the life of the unborn, who are capable of pain.”But abortion-rights supporters quickly criticized the proposal. Florida had about 65,000 abortions last year, with about 6% performed during the second trimester of pregnancy, according to statistics from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some Floridians are finally seeing $300 unemployment checks after weeks of delay. The money, which was part of the federal government’s $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, was stalled when the president did not sign the bill before unemployment benefits expired. Now, weeks after the COVID-19 relief bill was signed, the DEO announced this week 1 million people should be able to start applying for that $300. You should walk through the process because the extended benefits portal will get you the right posture to start receiving unemployment. Ron DeSantis announced additional help for people on unemployment or who have been impacted financially by COVID-19.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Before Florida receives its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the state will have to instill confidence in the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. Each flu season, the Florida Department of Health puts out messaging encouraging Floridians to get a flu shot. But as the state awaits the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, there has so far been little to no messaging to instill public confidence. According to the state’s vaccine plan, television ads, social media campaigns and even a vaccine informational website are planned. “So that everyone understands the various vaccines that are out there and the safety and confidence that the medical community has in these vaccines,” Mayhew said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Democratic Party Chair Terri Rizzo will not run for reelection after a disastrous 2020 election. The state Democratic party lost seats in both the Florida Legislature and Congress. The Democrats figured to go from 17 seats to 19 in the state Senate, but instead they lost a coveted South Florida seat. It was even worse in the House, where Democrats lost three incumbents and two targeted open seats. “We’re going to have to ask tough questions.”And then there were the two congressional seats in South Florida that Democrats lost.

Even before Trump officially notched his win Tuesday night in Florida, some Democrats were calling for a state party shakeup. Eskamani said her re-election came with marginal support from the Florida Democratic Party, adding that her political committee contributed more than $35,000 to help other candidates. Throughout the day Wednesday, pressure mounted for the ouster of Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo and party executive director Juan Peñalosa. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, acknowledged that Florida Democrats “suffered some hard losses” on election night. “The Democrats almost bragged about not going door to door, saying, ‘We’re not going to do that, COVID, blah blah blah blah blah,’ and it came to bear on Election Day,” he said.

Also, another 11 deaths were more than 30 days old when they were reported to the state, according to the health department. “During a pandemic, the public must be able to rely on accurate public health data to make informed decisions. There were three deaths reported Wednesday in Northeast Florida — one in Clay County and two in Putnam County. The inclusion of those deaths increased Florida’s COVID-19 death count by 10 percent, according to the House analysis. “Any ‘current’ count of COVID-19 deaths is more accurately described as the number of people with COVID-19 who died, rather than those who died from COVID-19,” the analysis said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida House speaker on Tuesday called into question the state’s COVID-19 death toll, warning that it was based on compromised data and used a methodology that inflated death rates. Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, sent a memo Tuesday to all House members announcing the findings of an-in house analysis he ordered of the state’s COVID-19 death numbers and cautioned lawmakers against using the data for policy purposes. Information released Tuesday by the state Department of Health said 15,531 Florida residents have died of COVID-19. The Florida Department of Health provided 13,920 COVID-19 death certificates to House staff members for analysis. “Any ‘current’ count of COVID-19 deaths is more accurately described as the number of people with COVID-19 who died, rather than those who died from COVID-19,” the analysis said.

A Republican proposal to slash the $600 weekly benefit boost for those left jobless because of the coronavirus shutdown could result in weeks or even months of delayed payments in some states. Washington was among the first states to implement the $600 benefit boost. John Bel Edwards said he doesn’t believe any states’ unemployment systems could handle a variable federal benefit tied to a person’s previous earnings. He has encouraged Louisiana’s congressional delegation to back a flat unemployment benefit instead. “The Republican proposal on unemployment benefits, simply put, is unworkable.

Interestingly, as Walt Disney World prepares to reopen this weekend, its home county of Osceola is showing the highest unemployment rate in the state at 37 percent. Ron DeSantis and US Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia made it clear that opening schools this fall isnt just about learning gaps but unemployment as well. Scalia hopes opening schools will give people a place to send their kids, so they can go back to work. If we dont get our schools open, it will be that much harder for working adult women who are facing a higher unemployment rate to get back to work, he said. Many will exhaust all of their unemployment benefits at the end of July, raising the question: whats next?

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The Florida Democratic Party applied for and received $780,000 from the Payroll Protection Program, but the party should not have applied in the first place. Criticism for accepting the PPP money has come from both inside and outside the Democratic Party. In a statement, the Florida Democratic Party said, in part: The bank, the loan processor and agents of the Small Business Association approved the funding. I really wish that the Trump administration was as responsive when it came to actually funding PPP, said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, the lone statewide elected Democrat. At least one Tallahassee lobbying firm has also returned PPP money.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Girls under the age of 18 will have to get a parents permission before having an abortion under a bill signed by Republican Florida Gov. Despite holding a news conference to sign environmental legislation on the same day, DeSantis chose to sign the abortion bill with no fanfare and out of the public eye. The Governor was pleased to sign this historic legislation to support and protect Florida families, spokeswoman Meredith Beatrice said in an email. The new law expands on a current law that requires a girls parents are notified before she can have an abortion. From the very beginning this legislative effort was a political agenda to ban abortion in the state of Florida, said Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Central Florida Democrat filed a proposal Tuesday that would set a 2050 deadline for all electricity used in the state to be generated from renewable energy. Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, filed the bill (HB 97) for consideration during the 2020 legislative session, which starts in January. It calls for the Office of Energy, which is part of the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to develop a plan to meet the 2050 target for using renewable-energy sources such as solar and wind. It also would require generating at least 40 percent of the state's electricity from renewable energy by 2030. News Service of Florida

Inslee, who has made climate change a focus of his campaign, visited the Everglades on Monday and planned Tuesday to stop in the Little Haiti neighborhood to talk about how climate change is exacerbating economic equality in that community. With the debates drawing focus to the state, Florida Democrats have made suggestions to presidential hopefuls about places they should visit and topics they should cover as they try to court Floridians in the coming months. Shaw said talking about how the candidates hope to mitigate the effects of climate change is a must. If youre in Florida and youre not talking about climate change, youre doing it wrong, said Shaw, who has endorsed South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg for president. Eskamani said she wants to hear candidates talk about their policies on abortion access, ending corporate welfare and addressing climate change.