Florida's Latest News

Jimmy Carter lauded for his humility and service in Washington before his return to Georgia

Jimmy Carter was celebrated Thursday for his personal humility and public service before, during and after his presidency during a funeral at Washington National Cathedral featuring the kind of pageantry the 39th U.S. president typically eschewed.

All of Carter’s living successors were in attendance, with President Joe Biden, the first sitting senator to endorse his 1976 run for the White House, delivering a eulogy. Biden and others took turns praising Carter’s record — which many historians have appraised more favorably since losing his bid for a second term in 1980 — and extolling his character.

“He built houses for people who needed homes,” said Joshua Carter, a grandson who recalled how Carter regularly taught Sunday school in his native hamlet of Plains, Georgia, after leaving the White House. “He eliminated diseases in forgotten places. He waged peace anywhere in the world, wherever he saw a chance. He loved people.”

Jason Carter, another grandson, praised his grandfather and his wife Rosalynn, who died in 2023. He wryly noted the couple’s frugality, such as washing and reusing Ziploc bags, and the former president’s struggles with his cellphone.

Bigger than politics: Gov. DeSantis offers help to fire-ravaged California

The rivalry between Florida’s Governor and his California counterpart is well-documented. But with disaster striking on the West Coast, Gov. Ron DeSantis is putting people over politics. As the Los Angeles area is beset by howling winds and rapidly spreading wildfires, the second-term Republican leader of the Sunshine State is offering whatever assistance is needed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Golden State.

“Our prayers are with everyone affected by the horrific fires in Southern California. When disaster strikes, we must come together to help our fellow Americans in any way we can. The state of Florida has offered help to assist the people of California in responding to these fires,” DeSantis posted to X on Wednesday.

Per The Associated Press, more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed amid the California conflagrations, with two confirmed casualties. Chief Financial Officer and Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis supports the Governor’s offer here.

“What’s happening in California is terrible and my State Fire Marshal’s Office is prepared to deploy firefighters, mental health specialists, as well as any post-fire ops support that’s needed to help the Golden State. There are men and women all throughout California who are fighting like hell to protect their communities and if we can lend a hand, we’d be proud to,” he posted to X.

Ron DeSantis wants NASA HQ relocated to Florida

Florida’s Governor is shooting for the stars when it comes to the home of NASA under President-elect Donald Trump. Gov. Ron DeSantis offered remarks on the Space Coast Wednesday regarding the Florida University Space Research Consortium. The multi-institutional initiative drives research, involving the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in conjunction with NASA.

But the memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday wasn’t necessarily the biggest news. DeSantis said at the Kennedy Space Center that NASA’s future should be in the Sunshine State, with Trump in position to make that happen. “There is an interest in moving the headquarters of NASA right here to Kennedy Space Center, and I’m supportive of that,” DeSantis said.

“They have this massive building in Washington, D.C., and like nobody goes to it. So why not just shutter it and move everybody down here? I think they’re planning on spending like a half a billion to build a new building up in D.C. that no one will ever go to either. So hopefully with the new administration coming in, they’ll see a great opportunity to just headquarter NASA here on the Space Coast of Florida. I think that’d be very, very fitting.”

The Governor is “looking forward to what we have in store in the years ahead,” he said.

Senate Judiciary Committee schedules Bondi confirmation hearings

The Senate Judiciary Committee has officially slotted two days for confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi.

The former Florida attorney general who served as Trump’s personal lawyer during his first impeachment trial is set to appear before lawmakers next Wednesday, January 15, and Thursday, January 16. As the nation's top prosecutor, Bondi would play a key role in implementing Trump’s regulatory agenda and defending the actions of his administration in court.

She is Trump's second choice for attorney general following the implosion over the incoming president's initial selection for the job, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was the subject of a House Ethics Committee report alleging the ex-congressman committed statutory rape and used illegal drugs.

But while she is more palatable to Republicans who balked at the Gaetz nomination, Bondi is unlikely to win much support among Democrats.