In the wake of two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio last month, contributions flooded into a political committee seeking to ban possession and sale of assault weapons in Florida, according to a new campaign-finance report filed at the state Division of Elections.

Ban Assault Weapons NOW, the political committee behind the proposed constitutional amendment, drew more than 28,000 contributions totaling $595,000 in August, by far the largest amount in a single month since the committee was launched in March 2018.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration want a federal judge to put on hold a challenge to a state law carrying out a constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences.

The Republican governor and Secretary of State Laurel Lee on Tuesday asked U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle to put the federal lawsuit on hold until the Florida Supreme Court rules in a related case.

After reaching a plea deal with federal prosecutors, suspended Tallahassee City Commissioner Scott Maddox grudgingly admitted guilt Tuesday to three fraud charges in a “pay-to-play” bribery probe, as the U.S. attorney announced increased efforts to crack down on public corruption.

Under the guilty plea accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, prosecutors dropped 39 of 42 charges against Maddox, a former Florida Democratic Party chairman nabbed in a multi-year investigation into city government.

Summer is supposed to be a sleepy time in the Sunshine State capital.

But partway through the sticky season, the doldrums have yet to descend. Instead, Tallahassee is one hot mess.

A scandal involving a financial regulator has rocked the Florida Cabinet. Elections lawsuits are clogging the courts. And Gov. Ron DeSantis is rattling sabers over a ruling that could revolutionize the state’s medical-marijuana industry.

One sizzling chapter has chilled, at least for now.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking an appellate court to revisit a decision that Florida officials argue injected “confusion and uncertainty” into the state’s medical marijuana industry.

DeSantis and health officials on Wednesday asked the 1st District Court of Appeal for a hearing by the full court, known as an “en banc” hearing, after a July 9 ruling that Florida’s “vertical integration” system requiring licensed operators to grow, process and distribute cannabis and by-products runs afoul of a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.

Voters throughout the state will have access to Spanish-language ballots in time for next year’s presidential election, under regulations Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is advancing.

DeSantis in April said he wanted to make Spanish-language ballots available statewide, noting that Florida “has a significant Spanish-speaking population and our state is home to many Puerto Ricans who moved here after the devastation of Hurricane Maria.”

Neil Armstrong’s words still give chills.

“The Eagle has landed.”

Fifty years after the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle descended on the moon, the nation --- and space freaks worldwide --- are celebrating Saturday’s anniversary of what was, according to Armstrong, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Google doodles, a postage stamp and parades galore are among the acknowledgments of the awesome event.

Florida’s law requiring pot operators to grow, process and distribute cannabis and related products created an “oligopoly” and runs afoul of a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana in the Sunshine State, an appellate court ruled Tuesday.

The 1st District Court of Appeal’s decision sent shockwaves through the state’s highly restricted but rapidly growing medical marijuana industry, in which licenses are routinely selling for upwards of $50 million.

President Donald Trump acted as maestro of a military extravaganza and delivered a message of unity to a country whose citizens appear more divided than ever as the United States celebrated its 243rd birthday this week.

“As long as we stay true to our cause, as long as we remember our great history, as long as we never, ever stop fighting for a better future, then there will be nothing that America cannot do,” Trump told a crowd of thousands gathered under rainy skies on the National Mall in Washington.