Florida's Latest News

DeSantis steps up dire warning to GOP about distraction from Biden, amid Trump’s latest indictment

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is increasingly urging Republicans to avoid the temptation to refight the 2020 election next year, even as former President Donald Trump remains the dominant favorite for the 2024 GOP nomination on a message of vindicating his defeat.

Though DeSantis recently cast doubt on the false theories about the 2020 election at the heart of Trump’s federal indictment, DeSantis is saying in early-voting states that any focus except on defeating Democratic President Joe Biden would be dire for his party.

“If that is the choice, we are going to win and we are going to win across the country,” DeSantis told reporters Saturday after a campaign stop in northern Iowa. “If the election is a referendum on other things that are not forward-looking, then I’m afraid Republicans will lose.”

DeSantis was on the second of a two-day trip across Iowa, pressing his recent record in Florida of conservative education, abortion and gender policy, and an equally GOP crowd-pleasing agenda for the nation.

DeSantis suspends a second elected Florida prosecutor

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended a top prosecutor in Central Florida on Wednesday, accusing her of failing to impose mandatory sentences for gun and drug crimes and allowing juveniles to avoid incarceration.

In an announcement in Tallahassee, DeSantis said he was suspending Monique Worrell, the elected state attorney in Orange and Osceola counties. The decision marks the second time DeSantis has suspended a prosecutor from office.

“Prosecutors do have a certain amount of discretion about what cases to bring and which cases to not,” DeSantis said. “But what this state attorney has done is abuse that discretion and effectively nullified certain laws in the state of Florida that breaches her duties that she owes to the people of Florida under our state Constitution, and provides the basis for the suspension.”

Worrell, a Democrat who was first elected in 2020, is the second Black state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Florida’s heat wave adds dangerous threat to people with Alzheimer’s

Florida is scorching under the summer sun this year, breaking heat records left and right. This week most of the state has been under extreme heat warnings and watches as temperatures stayed in the 90s and the humidity drove the "feels like" heat index up past 115. It's dangerous for anyone to be out in the sun without taking precautions.

It's even more dangerous if someone may not notice that they're overheating, may not understand what it means, may have impaired judgment, or may not be able to tell anyone about it.

"Summer can be extremely dangerous for those with Alzheimer's in Florida," Julie Shatzer, Vice President of Programs for the Florida chapters of the Alzheimer's Association, said in an email. "Symptoms of overheating can be difficult to detect in those with Alzheimer's and other dementia since they can be similar."

There is also the greater chances for confusion due to "power outages from storms, detours due to flooded roads and general disruptions to daily life" that can lead to an increase in wandering, Shatzer said.

SpaceX lines up 4th launch in 8 days with Starlink mission tonight

SpaceX is picking up its launch pace in August aiming for its fourth launch in just over a week with another Starlink mission from the Space Coast.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 of the company’s internet satellites is targeting a 9:55 p.m. liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40. There are four backup windows that fall between 10:46 p.m. and 1:17 a.m. overnight as well as five backup options on Friday night from 9:30 p.m. through 12:52 a.m. Saturday.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 60% chance for good conditions at opening window, but improving to 90% by the end of the window. In the event of a 24-hour delay, the chances are 60% at the window opening improving to 90% by the end of the window.

The first-stage booster is flying for the ninth time and will attempt a recovery landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic.