Aug 09 Judge blocks Florida law that prevents cruise lines from requiring proof of vaccination By Associated Press A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Florida law that prevents cruise lines from requiring passengers to prove they're vaccinated against COVID-19. The judge says it appears unconstitutional and won't likely hold up in court. Continue reading
Aug 06 Florida OKs school vouchers in districts requiring masks By Brendan Farrington, Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press Florida’s Board of Education decided Friday to provide private school vouchers to parents who say a public school district’s mask-wearing requirements amount to harassment of their children. Continue reading
Aug 03 DeSantis won’t move on masks as Florida COVID wards swell By Terry Spencer, Adriana Gomez Licon, Kelli Kennedy, Associated Press With the much more contagious delta variant now spreading exponentially, Florida hit 11,515 hospitalized patients Tuesday, breaking last year's record for the third straight day. Continue reading
Jul 24 States scale back virus reporting just as cases surge By Josh Funk, Associated Press Several states scaled back their reporting of COVID-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities. Continue reading
Jul 06 WATCH: Florida officials give update on Surfside building collapse, search and rescue By Adriana Gomez Licon, Bobby Caina Calvan, Associated Press Bands of heavy rain were expected in Surfside as Elsa strengthened on Tuesday, possibly becoming a hurricane again before making landfall somewhere between Tampa Bay and Florida's Big Bend and crossing northern Florida. Continue reading
May 06 DeSantis signs GOP-drafted voting bill, legal fight begins By Bobby Caina Calvan, Associated Press Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping elections bill into law Thursday that he and other Republicans said would place guardrails against fraud, even as they acknowledged there were no serious signs of voting irregularities last November. Continue reading
Apr 19 DeSantis signs Florida’s anti-riot bill, cites Chauvin trial By Brendan Farrington, Associated Press Florida now has stricter laws to punish people who take part in violent protests. Republican Gov. Ron Desantis cited events around the country as he signed the so-called anti-riot bill on Monday. Continue reading
Apr 08 Florida sues federal government to allow cruises to sail By Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says the no-sail order is outdated and hurts the state as the industry generates billions for the economy. Continue reading
Apr 04 Florida works to avoid ‘catastrophic’ pond collapse By Chris O'Meara, Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond in the Tampa Bay area while evacuating the area to avoid a “catastrophic flood.”… Continue reading
Apr 02 Florida governor issues order banning businesses from requiring ‘vaccine passports’ By Associated Press Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued an executive order Friday banning businesses from requiring customers to show proof they've been vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to get service. Continue reading