Florida's Latest News

Ron DeSantis tells Laura Ingraham that critics of his reopening plan are ‘ignorant about Florida’

Businesses in the Sunshine State are closer to normal than they’ve been since March after Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the state into Phase 3 of his Reopening plan Friday.

The Governor appeared on Fox News Channel Friday night with Laura Ingraham, where he was presented with criticism from CNN’s Sanjay Gupta about the state’s decision to increase restaurant capacity.

DeSantis’ take is that such criticism stems from those who are “ignorant about Florida.”

“We never closed down over the summer,” DeSantis said. “He was talking about the Sunbelt Spike. We actually had, of course, beaches, theme parks, retail operating at 100%. We had sports, summer camps over the summer. We have over 1.1 million students in face-to-face instruction for K-12. We have college students that are on campus. We’ve had big events, college football with fans. NFL football with fans. We had a NASCAR race with 30,000 people.”

August revenue collection report brings ‘good news,’ Bill Galvano says

Senate President Bill Galvano told media on Friday that Florida’s August Revenue Collections exceed post-pandemic estimates by $177 million.

“We are already on the path to recovery and what the Governor is doing here today is just going to continue that path and perhaps accelerate it,” Galvano said with Gov. Ron DeSantis at his side.

According to a collection report, Florida generated $2.46 million in August revenue. What’s more, twelve key revenue sources came in above estimates by a combined $210.2 million. Those revenue, among others, include sales tax, corporate income tax, beverage taxes and documentary stamp tax.

Former Trump campaign manager involuntarily committed, Fort Lauderdale police say

Former Trump campaign manager Bradley Parscale was involuntarily committed to a hospital Sunday by Fort Lauderdale police after his wife reported that he was suicidal, according to police.

Officers responded just before 4 p.m. to Parscale’s Desota Drive home in the tony Seven Isles area after his wife called about “an armed male attempting suicide,” according to a press release. Police said that Parscale’s wife, Candice Parscale, told officers “her husband was armed, had access to multiple firearms inside the residence and was threatening to harm himself.”

“Officers determined the only occupant inside the home was the adult male,” stated the release, which identified the man as Parscale. “Officers made contact with the male, developed a rapport, and safely negotiated for him to exit the home.”

A slew of 24 new Florida laws kicks in on Thursday

From stricter penalties for ripping off military veterans to new guidelines for specialty license plates, 24 laws go into effect Thursday after being passed during the 2020 legislative session.

The changes are among 206 bills that cleared the House and Senate before the session ended March 19. Of those bills, 201, including a new state budget, were signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Most of the new laws went into effect July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year. But DeSantis also signed a batch on Sept. 19, including the license plate changes.