Florida's Latest News

DeSantis says Florida needs more remdesivir, touts mental-health help amid coronavirus

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Vice President Mike Pence understands Florida needs more of the antiviral medication remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients and that more vials are on their way to the state.

“They are working on that,” he said, adding that he had spoken to Pence about the issue on Wednesday night. “We want to get it there [to the hospitals] as soon as possible.”

His comments came after a discussion on the coronavirus and the mental health of Floridians, during which he emphasized the negative effects of social isolation.

COVID test results taking too long, DeSantis says, so slow labs will get less work

State officials will stop sending COVID-19 tests to labs that are slow to turn around results, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.

The Department of Emergency Management will instead start sending work to labs with a track record of faster turnaround times.

“Those who can produce are going to get more of the business, and I think that’s the best way to go about it,” he said.

FSU SGA Senate President turns away state lawmakers during vote on anti-Semitism resolution

Florida State University’s Student Government Association (SGA) voted late Wednesday to approve a resolution that would, among other changes, adopt a new definition of anti-Semitism for the university.

The resolution passed with a vote of 26 yeas and 14 nays after a marathon meeting consisting of six hours’ worth of public testimony by students, as well as debate between student senators.

The new definition adopted by SGA mirrors the definition recognized by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), Florida statutes  and the U.S. State Department.

Supreme Court declines to overturn decision in fight over felon voting in Florida

The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to weigh in on Florida’s fight over felon voting, choosing not to overturn a lower court’s decision to keep hundreds of thousands of poor felons from joining the voter rolls ahead of this year’s elections.

Thursday’s decision, which was not accompanied by a written ruling, means that felons who can’t afford to pay off all court fines, fees and restitution to victims are still unable to register to vote. Three of the court’s liberal justices, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, disagreed in a written dissent.

Last week, Florida’s battle over felon voting made its first appearance before the high court when the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups asked the justices to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta.