Florida's Latest News

Ron DeSantis sees two-front Israeli war against Hamas — and media

At the rollout of his Veterans Coalition backing his presidential campaign, Ron DeSantis described Israel as being at war not just with Hamas, but with a media he says is carrying the Palestinian terror group’s water by misrepresenting facts to harm the Israeli position.

Addressing an audience in Anderson, South Carolina, the 2024 Republican candidate for President blasted “bogus media reports” that contended Israel blew up a hospital in Gaza days ago.

“Hamas lied and said that Israel blew up a hospital. Did the media fact check Hamas? Did the media make sure that that assertion was verified? No, they went and printed that because they’re trying to produce a narrative,” DeSantis said.

“They went with things that were lies, that lit a fuse throughout the world, where you got people now out there protesting and all these things,” DeSantis added. “And so when we stand with Israel, not only stand their right to defend themselves, we have to stand for the truth against media lying, and they are going to continue to do this throughout this conflict.”

The government secures a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over alleged redlining in Florida

The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.

The bank denied violating fair lending laws and said it wanted to avoid litigation by agreeing to the deal, which does not include civil monetary penalties.

It’s the latest settlement over a practice known as redlining, which the Biden administration is tackling through a new task force that earlier this year reached the largest agreement of its kind in the department’s history.

Between 2016 and 2021, the Atlanta-based Ameris Bank’s home lending was focused disproportionately on mostly white areas of Jacksonville while other banks approved loans at three times the rate Ameris did, the government said.

Advocates hope to connect the Legacy Trail to Tampa and Naples

The Legacy Trail stretches from downtown Sarasota to Venice. The goal is to complete the Florida Gulf Coast Trail through seven counties.
The Legacy Trail continues to grow, in size and in popularity, with construction on overpasses across Bee Ridge Road and Clark Road scheduled to start later this year.

In the last 12 months, more than 660,000 bikers, joggers and rollerbladers have spent time on the trail, which stretches mainly along former railway corridors from downtown Sarasota to Venice.

And, if supporters can help pull it off, the trail could eventually be linked to the Florida Gulf Coast Trail, with routes that would connect Tampa to Naples.

It doesn't have to end there, says Charles Hines, of the Trust for Public Lands. "Ultimately, the goal to be able to travel all throughout the state of Florida."

'This was one flood too many.' Rubonia residents still recovering eight weeks after Hurricane Idalia

The historically black community in Manatee County has experienced persistent flooding for years. The August hurricane brought more than three feet of storm surge to the neighborhood.
As he navigates his walker along a cracked driveway, Morris Goff takes visitors inside the home his parents bought nearly 70 years ago. 

"Let me walk you through, right quick,” he said. “My sister's here, she's the caretaker of it. She and my brother." 

Goff and his eight siblings were born and raised in Rubonia, a low-lying community located along Terra Ceia Bay. He says it’s not unusual for water to flow through the neighborhood after a storm, but Idalia brought the worst flooding he's ever seen. 

"The water was coming up out out of the grates out there like it was a fountain,” he said."