Last week, two members of the Florida delegation looked to build a closer partnership with Israel, Greece and Cyprus while taking aim at Turkey.
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, teamed up with U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI, to bring out the “Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act."
Sen. Marco Rubio, on the U.S. Senate East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy Subcommittee, turned his attention to Chinese aggression last week.
The Florida Republican is looking to impose sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies that “participate in Beijing’s illegitimate activities to aggressively assert its expansive maritime and territorial claims” in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
It only takes one.
And if you don’t believe that, ask the folks in Mexico Beach, Panama City, Port St. Joe, Blountstown, Marianna and numerous other Northwest Florida communities. Hurricane Michael roared ashore Oct. 10 and forever changed their lives.
Now, less than eight months later, Florida is poised to enter another hurricane season. From June 1 to Nov. 30, that means a new round of hoping for a calm year --- or at least hoping the wind blows another direction.
In a turnabout from a similar case last year, an administrative law judge Friday decided that state gambling regulators erred when they allowed South Florida’s Calder Race Course to keep its lucrative slot-machine license after demolishing a grandstand where bettors watched horses compete.
The Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association challenged a state Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering renewal of Calder’s slots license after the grandstand was razed and a slot-machine facility was built near outside areas where patrons could view live races.
As an indicator of how much traction the state Democratic Party lost with Hispanic voters last year, the party leadership has announced it will launch a statewide Spanish language radio program. The rollout will begin in the Miami market this weekend.
A bill from two North Florida congressmen -- Republican Rep. John Rutherford and Democratic Rep. Al Lawson -- to help veterans transition out of the service and into civilian careers has cleared the U.S. House and now heads to the U.S. Senate.
A Southwest Florida Republican congressman is backing a proposal to have pharmaceutical companies have more transparency when they want to raise drug prices.
This week, U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., joined U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., in bringing out the “FAIR Drug Pricing Act” which, they insist, will be “the first step in addressing skyrocketing prescription drug prices by requiring transparency for pharmaceutical corporations that plan to increase drug prices.”
In the first execution since Gov. Ron DeSantis took office, serial killer Bobby Joe Long was put to death by lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison.
Long, 65, died at 6:55 p.m., becoming the 98th inmate executed since the death penalty was reinstated in Florida in 1976 --- and the first since Jose A. Jimenez was executed Dec. 13. Michelle Glady, a Department of Corrections spokeswoman, said the execution “took place without incident.”
Lead Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was feted by Orlando trial attorney John Morgan Tuesday in a fundraiser at his Lake Mary home, where a large crowd -- who paid $1,000 to as much as $25,000 each -- contributed $1.3 million to his 2020 campaign.
The fundraiser was the second Morgan has organized for Biden and the second this week in Florida for the former vice president, who netted another $400,000 at a Monday campaign event hosted by developer Michael Adler in Coral Gables.
A national report has focused a spotlight on the background check Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet did before hiring Ronald Rubin as the state’s chief financial regulator.
Rubin was placed on administrative leave earlier this month, amid an investigation into a sexual-harassment complaint. Since then, other accusations --- including comments about “old” employees and “rednecks” --- have been leveled against the Office of Financial Regulation commissioner.
