Florida's Latest News

Associated Industries of Florida Endorses Several House Candidates for 2026 Races

The Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) announced an additional round of endorsements for several House candidates in the 2026 general election through a press release this week.

“We’re proud to announce AIF’s 2026 General Election endorsements for Florida House candidates,” AIF President and CEO Brewster Bevis said in a statement. “These endorsements add to the strong slate of candidates we have supported throughout this election cycle—leaders who understand the challenges facing Florida’s employers and are committed to fostering economic growth, expanding opportunity, and helping keep lower costs for hardworking Floridians. We are confident these candidates will work tirelessly to strengthen Florida’s business climate, protect our state’s economic competitiveness, and ensure Florida remains a place where families, workers, and job creators can thrive. Voters can feel confident in the leadership and vision of these candidates and casting a ballot for them as they head to the polls this November.”

Florida counties begin receiving mail ballots as 8 million votes expected in November election

County supervisors of elections are starting to receive the first of what is expected to be around 8 million ballots cast in Florida for the November general election.

Around 150 mail ballots have been returned from the nearly 200,000 sent out last week to Floridians in the military and currently overseas, according to figures posted Monday by the Division of Elections.

"I encourage voters who are voting by mail to track their ballot and sign up for notifications, so they know when we mail their ballot out and when we receive it back in our office," Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said Friday in a released statement. "Most mail takes about a week to reach its destination."

One of 67 county elections offices in Florida, Latimer's office sent out 2,721 General Election ballots to absent military and overseas voters, while announcing plans to send out more than 146,000 ballots to domestic voters on October 1.

Leon County offering up to $50K incentive for big tourism events

Leon County is creating a formalized incentive program that aims to boost large-scale tourism events at Florida A&M and Florida State universities and Tallahassee State College.

The IMPACT program is a direct result of the wildly successful Savannah Bananas in February, which generated an estimated $10.1 million in economic impact, and the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Unleash the Beast event the following month that generated more than $2.5 million in estimated economic impact. Both events took place at Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium.

The program will receive an annual $250,000 allocation from the Tourist Development Tax, also known as the hotel-bed tax, and offers up to $50,000 per event for performance-based reimbursements.

To qualify, events must meet certain criteria. That includes attracting a significant number of visitors from outside the region, generate overnight stays in Leon County hotels and produce a marketing buzz for the destination.

Florida 2nd in US in lethal brain eating amoeba cases. How to avoid it

Florida swimmers are already familiar with Vibrio vulnificus, the so-called "flesh-eating bacteria" that thrives in brackish water where freshwater and seawater meet. Another deadly threat, known as the "brain-eating amoeba," can be found in warm freshwater. Although infections are extremely rare, they are almost always fatal.

At least two U.S. cases of primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), caused by Naegleria fowleri, have been reported so far this summer. A Louisiana child has died and a North Carolina teenager became seriously ill after exposure to contaiminated freshwater.

But Sunshine State residents should be aware of the dangers, as Florida has reported the most U.S. cases of brain-eating amoeba infections in the last 88 years, behind only Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.