Florida's Latest News

DeSantis signs emergency order, allowing for federal aid in Surfside condo collapse

Seventeen hours after the deadly partial collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium in Surfside, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for Miami-Dade County Thursday, enabling federal rescue, housing and financial assistance.

The decision was the capstone to a frenzied day of action from every level of government, as local, state and federal agencies deployed dozens of emergency response teams, medical personnel and structural engineers to mount a massive search and rescue effort to find survivors under the pile of rubble from the collapsed 12-story building.

At a news conference at the White House earlier in the day, President Joe Biden said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was standing by to help but was waiting on the governor to make the necessary formal request.

New law aims to simplify Floridian’s job search

The complicated maze of programs and job-listing sites Florida job seekers must enter when looking for employment will hopefully soon become more navigable because of legislation signed into law today.

Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, said workforce legislation signed into law today will transform the way Floridians get a job, pursue job training and prepare themselves for future careers.

“No longer will Floridians be trapped in the vestiges of an antiquated, one-size-fits-all workforce system that forces them into a bureaucratic maze of hoops to jump through,” said Sprowls. “We’ve worked with educators, employers, and industry leaders to provide a 21st century solution for job seekers. It shouldn’t be so hard to find work – and won’t be any longer.”

‘Florida Education Champions’ launches effort to legalize sports betting in 2022

Two of the biggest platforms in the sports betting business — DraftKings and FanDuel — are launching a ballot initiative to open the Florida market to all comers.

The proposed constitutional amendment, launched by a new political committee called Florida Education Champions, comes a little over a month after the Legislature approved a new Gaming Compact, which, among other things, gave the Seminole Tribe of Florida the exclusive rights to offer sports betting statewide.

The launch of the proposed constitutional amendment was first reported by Florida Politics.

The ballot initiative would allow for taxes on sports betting, with all tax revenues going into the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.

Ron DeSantis sends 50 cops to southern border

Gov. Ron DeSantis is following up on his promise to send law enforcement officers to the U.S.-Mexico border with a contingent of 50 officers and teased a possible cameo.

The Department of Law Enforcement, Fish and Wildlife and Florida Highway Patrol sent off the first wave of officers to the border. That helps fulfill a request from the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona for individual states to address rising crime at the border.

Last week, DeSantis announced initial plans to respond to those border states’ request, blaming President Joe Biden and his administration’s immigration policies for rising crime. By Friday, he returned to Pensacola to follow through on that announcement.