Florida's Latest News

DeSantis Declares State of Emergency in Broward After Record-Setting 25+ Inches of Rain

Florida's governor has declared a state of emergency for Broward County after a record amount of rainfall from Wednesday’s storms left parts of the area with massive flooding that could take days or longer to recover from.

Gov. Ron DeSantis declared the state of emergency Thursday afternoon, noting that rainfall and flooding has "affected and may continue to impact the operational capability of critical infrastructure, including major state and county roadways, airports, hospitals, schools, and other critical infrastructure throughout Broward County."

Preliminary figures from the National Weather Service in Miami showed 25.91 inches of rain fell at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, shattering the old record of 14.59 inches set in 1979.

Hollywood received 18 inches of rain while Dania Beach got 17.3 inches. One portion of Plantation received over 15 inches of rainfall while Lauderhill and another portion of Plantation had over 10 inches.

Fort Lauderdale also declared a State of Emergency Thursday morning as well as the City of Dania Beach.

'Freedom is here to stay': Super PAC backing Ron DeSantis 2024 to debut national ad

There’s a new ad backing Ron DeSantis' pending run for President debuting Monday.

The spot is part of a 2024 electioneering campaign by Never Back Down Inc., a PAC formed in February by Ken Cuccinelli, who previously led the Department of Homeland Security under former President Donald Trump.

It’s the second video the group has produced in the last two months depicting DeSantis as a reasonable, benevolent and stalwart defender of freedom, as comfortable among everyday Americans as he’d be effective in the White House.

Titled “Anthem,” the ad opens with an aerial shot of a Norman Rockwell-esque farmhouse surrounded by prairie-like flatlands. Shots of mountains and the ocean, sans white foam, appear later. Over its minute runtime, it covers a lot of bases.

“When the world went mad, we stood as a refuge of sanity,” several voiceover speakers say in succession, referring to DeSantis’ reopening Florida just months into the pandemic.

Short clips of American iconography — black-and-white photos of settler families, bunting flags and a young baseball player stepping up to the plate — lead into the first appearance of DeSantis in the video as he walks onstage to enthusiastic cheers.

Florida Legislature OKs eliminating unanimous jury for death penalty sentences

Florida will soon no longer require unanimous jury recommendations for judges to impose death penalty sentences under a bill the Legislature approved Thursday, a reaction to the life sentence handed to the man who massacred 17 people at a Parkland high school.

The House passed the bill on a 80-30 vote. It now goes to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for final approval. It will allow the death penalty with a jury recommendation of at least 8-4 in favor of execution. DeSantis supports the proposal.

The bill was filed after the outrage over a divided 9-3 jury sparing Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz from capital punishment for the 2018 massacre. He instead received a life sentence with no parole.

Only three states out of the 27 that impose the death penalty do not require unanimity. Alabama allows a 10-2 decision, and Missouri and Indiana let a judge decide when there is a divided jury.

Florida has executed two convicted murderers this year, including one on Wednesday, and another execution is scheduled in three weeks. DeSantis, who is a likely presidential candidate, hadn’t overseen an execution since 2019 before signing the three death warrants this year.

Phosphogypsum reuse study bill heads to Senate floor

Legislation is on the way to the Senate floor that could open up use of phosphogypsum for use in constructing state roads.  

The goal is to take some of the edge off of the state’s road construction supply challenges.

“This is a study that will petition the (Environmental Protection Agency), and if the EPA acts, this legislation will allow Florida to potentially eliminate the massive gypstacks as the only option for managing phosphogypsum,” Panama City Republican Sen. Jay Trumbull said to the Senate Committee on Fiscal Policy.

The bill (SB 1258) sets out to accomplish several things, but primarily, it directs the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to look into the suitability of using phosphogypsum in road base, including consideration of existing and ongoing studies.

“Upon the FDOT’s determination of suitability, the bill authorizes the use of phosphogypsum from phosphate production as a construction aggregate material in accordance with the conditions of the EPA approval for such use,” according to the Senate staff analysis.