Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis declares state of emergency for coastal counties ahead of Hurricane Isaias

Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all of Florida’s east coast counties from Miami-Dade to Nassau ahead of the approaching Hurricane Isaias.

Hurricane Isaias is expected to track toward Florida’s east coast by Saturday night as a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds.

“The situation remains fluid and can change quickly,” DeSantis said from the State Emergency Operations Center at the 11:30 a.m. press conference.

He said the state is fully prepared for this and any future storm with the state operations center at Level 1 readiness since March including a PPE reserve for hurricane season with 20 million masks and millions of other personal protective equipment such as face masks, gowns and thermometers.

DeSantis raises funds for Trump in advance of Florida events

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been calling high-profile donors this month ahead of two fundraisers President Donald Trump's campaign is scheduled to hold this week in the state.

The money effort is a show of loyalty by the governor, who has clashed with Trump over a campaign hire and is coping with a surge of coronavirus infections that have made Florida the worst-hit state in the country, with more cases than New York and California. The virus has killed more than 6,300 Floridians.

DeSantis has shut down his own fundraising efforts, in one case even returning a $25,000 check his political committee received. Donors who have asked about giving financial support to the governor have been told to wait.

Poll says Ron DeSantis’ approval rocked by coronavirus response

Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ job approval ratings have crashed during the coronavirus crisis, a new poll reveals.

Nearly half of all voters now disapprove of the way DeSantis has been operating. His approval rating has fallen dramatically since the high he was riding through much of his first year in office, according to a new poll from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.

Gone are the majority support he had from independent voters, the once sizable approval he enjoyed among Democrats, and the overwhelming approval he used to have with Republicans.

The latest overall line: 45% of Florida voters approve of his job performance, and 49% disapprove.

Florida faces pressure, sees record high virus deaths

Florida tallied on Thursday a new record high in daily confirmed COVID-19 deaths for the third straight day as the state faces pressure to outline new measures to combat the pandemic.

The Florida Department of Health said 253 more deaths were reported raising the state’s total death toll to 6,586.

The new deaths bring the average reported deaths per day to 154 for the past week, second only to Texas in the resurgence of the outbreak. Florida’s current rate of deaths is about one-fifth of those logged in New York at the height of its outbreak in mid-April.

The head of a congressional coronavirus oversight panel sent letters to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and three other Republican governors Wednesday requesting documents to show how their states are fighting the pandemic.