Sports betting, “designated player” card games and bingo are all on the table as a future Senate president tries to nail down a gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida as early as Friday.

The state and the tribe are back at the negotiating table in hopes of finalizing a revenue-sharing agreement, called a “compact,” in which the Seminoles would pay the state in exchange for the exclusive rights to operate certain types of gambling.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday downplayed growing concerns that President Donald Trump is putting Florida’s coastal waters back in play for oil exploration.

Three Democrats representing parts of Central Florida in Congress--U.S. Reps. Val Demings, Stephanie Murphy and Darren Soto--helped reel in more than $3 million to help Orlando secure itself from terrorism. 

At the end of last week, the three members announced that Orlando will be receiving a $3.25 million grant from the  U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS)Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). Last year, after not getting funds since 2014, Orlando received $1.5 million in a UASI grant. 

Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said Sunday if it's not too late, she will try to amend one of the Legislature's 2019 insurance bills to mandate all insurers inoculate at-risk people in areas identified by the Centers for Disease Control as having been hit by Hepatitis A.

"Local health departments usually insure Medicaid patients, the uninsured and the underinsured," said Harrell. "But this is a rising epidemic and we have to look for the vulnerable who might otherwise fall between the cracks."