Florida's Latest News

Ashley Moody boasts north of $14M in total fundraising across committees

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody added another $3.6 million to her campaign coffers in the second quarter of 2026.

That means the Plant City Republican has raised a total of $12 million as she prepares to stand for election in November. Across all committees in her control, Moody’s campaign reports she has collected $14 million, and her campaign wrapped the quarter with $10.3 million in cash on hand.

That notably falls short of the $16.7 million raised by Democratic challenger Alex Vindman. He announced at the start of the month he had raised $8.5 million in the quarter.

With having run successfully for statewide office twice, Moody voiced confidence as she runs for federal office for the first time.

“Floridians are fired up, and this quarter’s numbers prove it. From the Panhandle to the Keys, we are building a coalition of grassroots supporters who are ready to keep Florida the freest state in the nation,” Moody said. “I am so grateful to everyone who has gotten involved and supported our campaign.”

Florida battling fast-spreading tiny pest that kills crops 

Florida is racing to subdue a new invasive species no bigger than a match head that can suck the sap from an entire field in less than a month and has a taste for some of the state’s most prolific crops.

Fuzzy in appearance, but ruthless in its assault, the pasture mealybug was first discovered in May and has already been found in 15 Florida counties.

It is cold tolerant, impervious to pesticides, prolifically fecund, and has the potential to inhale yawning swaths of corn, rice, sugarcane, sorghum, turf grasses and hayfields from the Panhandle to the Keys.

“It’s very serious and it could be devastating in areas being affected,” said Stewart Stein, who grows sugarcane and corn in the rich black muck of western Palm Beach County. “We don’t have it in Belle Glade yet and I hope we don’t get it.”

New judge Andrew Sheeran, former DeSantis official, to be sworn in

A new circuit judge for the state's Big Bend region is being ceremonially sworn in on July 17 in what's known as an investiture.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Andrew Sheeran to the bench in March, replacing longtime judge John C. Cooper, who retired last year.

The ceremony will be 3 p.m. in courtroom 2-E, at the Judge Augustus D. Aikens Jr. Leon County Courthouse, 301 S. Monroe St. in Tallahassee.

Sheeran, a married father of nine, "spent 17 years with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (or AHCA, Florida's Medicaid and health care facility regulator). He served as Senior Attorney, Chief Litigation Counsel, and Deputy General Counsel. From January 2023 until his appointment to the bench, (he) was AHCA’s General Counsel," or top in-house lawyer, a press release said.

According to news reports, Sheeran was involved in the drafting and circulation of a $67 million Medicaid settlement agreement that directed money to the Hope Florida Foundation, which became a focus of a Leon County grand jury and a House committee investigation.

Cyclosporiasis cases in Florida, U.S. could be undercounted, experts say

A parasite that causes extreme diarrhea, seen in recent outbreaks across the country, has been documented in over 20 counties in Florida. But experts say there could be more cases than what has been reported.

According to the Florida Department of Health’s Reportable Diseases Frequency Report, 50 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in the state since May 1.

“This infectious disease may be hard to monitor due to the nature of the signs and symptoms,” said Dr. Norman Beatty, an associate professor of medicine and hospital epidemiologist at UF Health Shands. “It’s common to get a diarrheal illness at times, and other infectious diseases can resolve on their own, but cyclosporiasis is important to identify right now because there are multiple outbreaks across the country.”

Cyclosporiasis is a gastrointestinal disease caused by the parasite cyclospora, which causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue and loss of appetite, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.