Florida's Latest News

Biden inauguration to feature virtual, nationwide parade

President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration will include a “virtual parade across America” consistent with crowd limits during the coronavirus era, organizers announced Sunday.

Following the swearing-in ceremony on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, Biden and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, will join Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband in participating in a socially distanced Pass in Review on the Capitol’s opposite front side. Those are military traditions where Biden will review the readiness of military troops.

Biden will also receive a traditional presidential escort with representatives from every branch of the military from 15th Street in Washington to the White House. That, the Presidential Inaugural Committee says, will be socially distanced too, while “providing the American people and world with historic images of the President-elect proceeding to the White House without attracting large crowds.”

Florida Supreme Court delivers the ‘Holy Grail of lawsuit reform’ in Thursday ruling

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday revamped a key legal standard as its conservative majority continued to show a willingness to undo previous decisions that have guided the state’s courts.

Justices, in a 6-1 ruling, decided to scrap a state standard for determining whether lower-court judges should grant summary judgment in civil lawsuits. The Supreme Court said Florida should align with a federal summary-judgment standard — an approach backed by business groups that have pushed for ways to cut down on litigation.

“This is the Holy Grail of lawsuit reform in Florida,” William Large, president of the business-backed Florida Justice Reform Institute, said in a prepared statement after the Supreme Court issued the ruling.

COVID-19 in Florida: Record 93,457 new cases reported in past week

The Florida Department of Health reported 97 more resident deaths linked to COVID-19 on Sunday along with 10,603 new positive cases.

To date, 1,365,436 people have been infected statewide and 21,987 Florida residents have died. With 323 non-resident fatalities, including three new deaths posted Sunday, the state’s combined total is 22,310.

Weekly figures of closely monitored pandemic data continue to rise and trend closer in similarity to what was seen during the summer spike across the Sun Belt, widely considered to be the height of the pandemic. This week — like the previous week — was impacted by the closure of COVID-19 testing sites statewide due to the New Year’s holiday, and the state’s combination of two days’ worth of coronavirus numbers on Saturday.

Does Joe Gruters have a clear path to reelection as Florida GOP chair?

Heading into Election Day, Joe Gruters’ future running the Republican Party of Florida seemed dependent on Donald Trump’s reelection. And while the President lost, he won the Sunshine State by a Florida landslide.

Now, Gruters prepares for a 2021 annual organization meeting without a notable challenge in the ranks — at least for now. Party rules allow a nomination from the floor, but the most buzzed about names who appeared to be mulling challenges have made clear they have no plans to come at Gruters. Indeed, it’s possible the entirety of RPOF’s leadership team may stay in place for the midterms.

“At the end of the day, results matter,” Gruters said with confidence. “People look at the party overall and this the party has done a good job. It was united.”