Florida's Latest News

DeSantis gets his first gubernatorial endorsement

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary on Saturday, the first endorsement DeSantis has received from a fellow GOP governor.

“I am officially, 100 percent, endorsing Ron DeSantis for president, and we’re going to win it in Oklahoma,” Stitt said Saturday ahead of DeSantis’ speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

DeSantis is “the right guy to beat Biden,” Stitt said, lauding the Florida governor’s leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stitt was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in his most recent reelection bid in 2022, in which he won more than 55 percent of the vote, beating Democratic challenger Joy Hofmeister in an election that was closer than expected.

Stitt’s endorsement came after DeSantis unveiled endorsements from 20 Oklahoma state lawmakers and former Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine, a NASA administrator under former President Trump.

DeSantis awarded $15 million to five rural areas. See which places are getting an infrastructure boost

Rural areas across the state will soon receive a critical infrastructure makeover due to a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week.

DeSantis announced more than $15 million in awards to five rural communities through the Rural Infrastructure Fund program.

From the Panhandle to the southern end of the state, this new law seeks to support community economic development projects that will strengthen public infrastructure and expand job opportunities for residents. Awards for the RIF program include millions to two northern counties and three cities sprinkled throughout the state.

“Today, I am proud to announce that five rural Florida communities will be receiving awards to foster resiliency and economic growth,” DeSantis said in a press release. “These infrastructure investments will pave the way for new job opportunities and business growth for Floridians.”

‘We are going to end weaponization’: DeSantis doubles down on mistrust of justice system

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday doubled down on the contention that the federal justice system has been politicized and weaponized, a view that a growing number of Republicans have espoused in the days following former President Donald Trump’s second indictment.

In an interview with conservative radio personality Hugh Hewitt, DeSantis said that if he is elected president in 2024, he will “radically reduce the size” of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and “reorient” the functions of federal law enforcement.

DeSantis did not speak directly to the case against Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. Trump faces 37 felony charges related to allegations that he illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructed the FBI’s efforts to investigate.

Instead, DeSantis more broadly talked about what he perceives to be the “weaponization of agencies.”

Don't touch that blob: Seaweed hitting Florida shores contains flesh-eating bacteria

People are being warned after FAU researchers find that Vibrio bacteria is aggressively sticking to plastic particles in the Sargassum seaweed.

As the Sargassum seaweed blob continues washing up on Florida’s shores, residents and tourists are being warned to avoid it as it contains flesh-eating bacteria.

A Florida Atlantic University study found that the 5,000-mile-wide, debris-filled swath contains the flesh-eating bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus.

FAU researchers sequenced the genomes of 16 Vibrio cultivars isolated from eel larvae, plastic marine debris, Sargassum seaweed and seawater samples from the Caribbean and Sargasso seas of the North Atlantic Ocean. They learned Vibrio pathogens can "stick" to plastics and might be adapting to plastic.

The study was published in the journal Water Research.