Florida's Latest News

Florida rises to the 14th largest economy in the world

The Florida Chamber Foundation is highlighting that the Sunshine State has now evolved into the world’s 14th-largest economy.

Officials with the Chamber pointed out Tuesday that Florida’s economy has grown to $1.8 trillion. That surpasses Australia and Mexico among other large nations. Chamber officials say they expect the state to be listed in the top 10 global economies in five years.

“Florida’s rise to the world’s 14th largest economy is part of our Florida 2030 Blueprint plan and further proof that free enterprise works,” said Mark Wilson, President and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida Chamber Foundation. “Florida continues creating jobs, attracting investment, welcoming new businesses, and giving families greater opportunity to succeed.”

The Florida economy increased by about 6.3% in the past year alone, Chamber officials said. At that pace, the state’s economy would need to grow by about 2% to become the 13th-largest economy on the planet, surpassing South Korea.

Congressman Byron Donalds earns Christian Family Coalition (CFC) Florida's Highly Qualified rating

Christian Family Coalition (CFC) Florida is pleased to announce that Congressman Byron Donalds has been rated Highly Qualified to become Florida's next Governor. 

"For years, CFC Florida's voter guides have been educating voters on which candidates represent their common-sense Christian values. We thank Byron Donalds for taking the time to answer our questions and for supporting policies that will keep Florida free," said CFC Florida Founder and Executive Director Anthony Verdugo.

CFC Florida does not endorse candidates but determines if they are highly qualified based on how their positions align with common-sense Christian values upon which this nation was founded as well as on their ability to raise the money needed to run an effective campaign.

"Faith in Jesus Christ has been an extremely important part of my life. Not only has it saved and transformed me, but it has been the guiding light throughout my political career," said Byron Donalds. "I thank the Christian Family Coalition for giving me their highly qualified rating, which I believe is a testament to the conservative principles I have always stood for and will continue to defend as Governor of the great state of Florida."

Disease-resistant coral found that could help restore Florida's reef

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease has killed countless coral across Florida and the Caribbean since it was discovered off Miami in 2014.

Now, researchers at Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory have identified some disease-resistant coral. Research scientist Sara Williams said it could help repopulate the reef with hardier coral.

"What we can do is take the results from this study to inform which corals we put on the reef," she said. "So that way if we put more resistant corals out, hopefully, those corals are going to survive the next disease wave and continue to grow and build more resilient reefs."

The study was published this month in Scientific Reports. Mote researchers evaluated 154 genetically distinct mountainous star coral. They conducted four experiments to determine how individual corals responded after exposure to stony coral disease, which is one of the most destructive coral diseases ever documented.

New statewide collaborative aims to close Florida’s local election information gap

A coalition of news organizations and university journalism programs have launched a new partnership to increase coverage of local elections throughout Florida. The collaborative, spearheaded by The Florida Trib, kicks off with coverage for the August 18 primary and will make hundreds of free stories available to voters across the state.

For the August primary, the Florida Election Reporting Partnership will focus on school board elections. This starting point reflects a serious need in the news landscape, the billions in public funding that school boards steward each year, and the reality of Florida’s recent ranking as having the nation’s lowest reading scores among its more than 2.8 million students, according to an Education Scorecard report.

Those stakes make access to reliable local information especially urgent. Yet Florida also has the country’s largest local news gap, ranking last nationally in media outlets per capita. That lack of coverage was clear during the last school board elections in 2024, when more than one-third of Florida’s 67 counties had no reporting, even though many had contested races.