In a case stemming from a woman’s lung-cancer death, an appeals court Friday urged the Florida Supreme Court to look again at whether the state has a medical-malpractice insurance “crisis” that justifies limiting damages in certain lawsuits.

The move by a panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal came in a Lee County lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that prevented the adult children of Ramona Reyes from recovering non-economic damages -- commonly known as pain and suffering damages -- in her death.

Spirit Airlines, fastest-growing airline in America, announced Thursday its intention to build a state-of-the-art headquarters in Dania Beach. The company said it plans to move into the new campus by mid-2022.

The airline, headquartered in Miramar for more than 20 years, submitted site plans to the City of Dania Beach to build a campus up to 500,000 square feet at Dania Pointe, what it calls "a premier mixed-use development comprised of nearly one million square feet of retail space, restaurants and housing."

Attorneys representing nine county school district boards made last-pitch arguments last week to persuade the Florida Supreme Court to hear their challenge of a 2017 state law that, among other actions, required districts to share revenues, including property taxes, with charter schools.

In a 13-page brief, the districts maintain that their School Board of Alachua County Florida v. Department of Education lawsuit is about ensuring “local control over local schools by local representatives answerable to local voters.”

Florida’s two U.S. senators are teaming up with U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., to bring back a bill helping Holocaust survivors and their heirs with insurance claims. 

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., are championing the “Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act.” Rubio had worked with then U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who lost to Scott last year, and now retired U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., in recent years on the bill. 

U.S. Reps. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla. wrote a letter Thursday urging the U.S. Department of Defense to consider awarding the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe, a war hero and Florida son who grew up in Oviedo.

The bipartisan letter sent to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy cited SFC Cashe’s extraordinary heroism and self-sacrifice as the basis for Cashe’s Silver Star to be upgraded to the Medal of Honor, the highest award for military valor.

A House education panel on Thursday began delving into the issue of raising teacher pay, with a key lawmaker saying that while "everything is on the table," the panel still needs to figure out where the money would come from.

Rep. Chris Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who chairs the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, said his panel has been asked by House leaders to find about $500 million in potential cuts as part of a broader budget exercise. But that exercise also could help determine if a teacher-pay package would be viable.

Insisting it will save thousands of lives, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., this week on a proposal to develop software to detect alcohol and add it to new cars. 

Udall introduced the “Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone (RIDE) Act” on Wednesday with Scott as the main cosponsor. 

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., scored a win this week as his “Student Veteran Empowerment Act” was rolled into a larger bill and cleared the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Back in July, Bilirakis, who was vice chairman of the committee when the GOP controlled the chamber, introduced the bill to help students on the GI Bill who are impacted when colleges and universities close unexpectedly. In recent years, several high profile proprietary schools, including ITT Tech, shut their doors with little warning. 

House and Senate criminal justice panels on Wednesday once again received an education about the ongoing problems plaguing Florida’s prison system.

Ahead of the 2020 legislative session, lawmakers on the committees heard alarming statistics showing a skyrocketing rate of violence, contraband being smuggled into state prisons, and high turnover rates among correctional officers.

And the legislators were also reminded that it will take millions of dollars to fix the problems.

Three Democrats in the Florida delegation paired up with a Republican from Puerto Rico to bring out a bill expanding Medicare Part D to America’s territories.