Florida's Latest News

Charlie Crist officially files to run for St. Petersburg mayor

Former Florida Gov. and Congressman Charlie Crist formally announced his bid for St. Petersburg mayor today, though with little fanfare – a small gathering of reporters in place of the usually large campaign-style fanfare that accompanies officially filing for office.

Crist enters the race with a formidable campaign war chest of nearly $1.2 million, according to public records, though campaign manager Michelle Schorsch said the figure is closer to $1.3 million.

Those financial numbers dwarf incumbent Mayor Ken Welch’s campaign finances, much of which was allegedly fleeced by Welch’s former treasurer, who presided over his Political Action Committee under the name Yolanda Brown, formerly Yolanda Cheers.

Questions have swirled over why Crist is seeking a mayoral seat after occupying higher offices during his political career – what some might consider a step down in political hierarchy. Crist rejected that notion.

DeSantis said Florida’s drought could bring a quieter hurricane season. Is that true?

Florida is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades, causing widespread wildfires and evacuation orders in large swaths of the state.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently offered a possible silver lining.

“They do say, that when you have droughts, that the hurricane seasons tend to be less active,” DeSantis said at an April 22 event in Jacksonville. “I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t know if that’s an old wives’ tale. I don’t know if there’s data to back it up, but people do say that, and so I guess we shall see what that means for this season coming up.”

Over half of Florida is in an “extreme drought,” as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor, and about 22% of the state is in an “exceptional drought,” the system’s highest level.

Uthmeier expands criminal AI investigation to USF murders

Days after Tampa prosecutors revealed that a suspected murderer consulted ChatGPT about placing human remains in a dumpster, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that he’s adding the case to his landmark criminal investigation into OpenAI.

“We are expanding our criminal investigation into OpenAI to include the USF murders after learning the primary suspect used ChatGPT,” Uthmeier announced on social media. He referred to the high-profile murders of two University of South Florida doctoral students, 27-year-old Bangladeshi friends Zimal Limon and Nahida Bristy, reported missing on April 16.

Limon’s roommate, Hisham Aburgharbieh, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon and a host of related felonies, including false imprisonment and unlawfully holding or moving a dead body.

New court documents, filed to prevent Abugharbieh’s release on bail, reveal snippets of murder-related questions between the 26-year-old and the AI chatbot.

Daniel Perez says House won’t deliberate on AI regulations or vaccine requirements, drawing Ron DeSantis’ fury

House Speaker Daniel Perez says bills on artificial intelligence and eliminating vaccine mandates for students are dead in the House, putting a halt to the legislation. 

That defies the wishes of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who put pressure on the Legislature to pass his agenda items during a Special Session this week. But Perez said no bills have been filed by the House as the lower chamber quickly convened on the first day of the Special Session.

“I’ve spoken with many members that have come to see me on these issues, and I feel confident that the position of this body on not moving on either of those issues was the right issue,” Perez told journalists.

DeSantis immediately attacked the House on X.