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Florida elected officials and politicians react to Donald Trump’s guilty verdict

A guilty verdict in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York could prove consequential in the election. That has many Florida elected officials loudly proclaiming the decision as an injustice, a sign of unequal treatment of Trump, and/or election interference. Meanwhile, critics of the former President see the decision as proof no one is above the law.

Trump, who lives now full-time in Mar-a-Lago, issued a lengthy statement, reading in part: “This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It’s a rigged trial, a disgrace. They wouldn’t give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district, in this area. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. 

The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here. You have a Soros-backed DA, and the whole thing, we didn’t do a thing wrong.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican and running mate contender, posted: “The verdict in New York is a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice. A political show trial conducted by an openly pro-Biden judge whose daughter makes money off the case, a jury from the most liberal county in America, absurd and ridiculous charges and outrageous jury instructions that guaranteed guilty verdicts. Biden and the Trump deranged left will stop at nothing to remain in power.”

Ron DeSantis hopes to raise at least $10M to boost Trump

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes to raise at least $10 million as part of a multistate fundraising swing for former President Donald Trump, a man he fought in a bitter primary race but with whom he has now found a cautious truce. 

“I think we believe Biden needs to be beat, and the governor is willing to put the sword down,” a top DeSantis adviser said. “They have had several good conversations as recently as last week.” The fundraising events will begin as soon as July and likely run through September, the DeSantis adviser said, with multiple events expected in Texas, California and Washington.

The plan is to tap into states where DeSantis already had substantial donor networks from his own presidential bid to be able to quickly raise cash for Trump.

“It’s in places where there is existing infrastructure for stuff like this,” the DeSantis adviser said. The money raised will be used to fund media buys in key swing states targeted by Trump’s political orbit.

Nearly 9M Floridians have 'forever chemicals' in their drinking water, latest numbers show

Nearly 90 million people in the United States have toxic forever chemicals, or PFAS, in their drinking water, according to updated federal data.

Of the 89.3 million exposed nationwide, 8.9 million are Floridians, as the advocacy organization Environmental Working Group crunched those numbers based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s database.

The data show PFAS were present in 33% of systems tested so far. The latest numbers water utilities reported to the EPA is part of a national effort to test water systems for the presence of 29 PFAS compounds in all public water systems serving over 3,000 people between now and 2026.

These chemicals are toxic even at low levels, as they do not break down and can build up in the body. Long-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer, harm fetal development and reduce vaccine effectiveness.

Disaster preparedness sales tax holiday starts Saturday

'We know it’s critical to get our supplies ready, to get our plan ready before the storm.' A sales tax holiday for disaster preparedness items, such as generators, batteries and tarps, starts on Saturday and runs for two weeks.

Officials with the Florida Retail Federation (FRF) and local Tallahassee politicians — Sen. Corey Simon, a Republican, and Rep. Allison Tant, a Democrat — held a press conference to raise awareness. “We know it’s critical to get our supplies ready, to get our plan ready before the storm,” Tant said.

The start of the sales tax holiday coincides with the start of hurricane season, which lasts until Nov. 30. But the Apalachee Ridge Estates neighborhood, where the event was held, knows all too well the need to be prepared for dangerous storms.

The area was hit hard by the tornadoes and thunderstorms that wrought havoc in Tallahassee on May 10. Simon said 200 to 300 homes are still without power because they aren’t capable of receiving electricity safely, displacing some residents for weeks or perhaps months to come.