Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis says he’ll keep raising money for Donald Trump

At a Home Depot in Fort Myers, Gov. Ron DeSantis offered some insights into what he sees his role with the Donald Trump campaign being through November. Trump won’t need much help in Florida, DeSantis said, but he’s going to help with fundraising elsewhere.

“I think it’s been reported we’ve been active in raising money. I think it’s important and we’re going to continue to do that,” DeSantis said.

“I don’t think that in this state there’s going to be much of a campaign because we’re now a solid Republican state. We weren’t when I became Governor, but now we are. And so I don’t think that the statewide races are competitive at all.”

Indeed, in recent weeks DeSantis has been fundraising for the former President, and hopes are that he can help Trump’s operation get a $10 million boost.

The name, image and likeness era has arrived for Florida high schools

Florida’s high school sports governing body unanimously approved specific language Tuesday allowing its student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.

Following a detailed look at the bylaws — and restrictions — pertaining to the new legislation, the Florida High School Athletic Association’s board of directors gave its landmark approval in a roll-call yeah-or-nay vote.

Florida becomes the 36th state to permit high school athletes to benefit financially from name, image and likeness.

It goes into effect for the 2024-25 school year. “I do really believe that this is going to put us on par with the rest of the country,” said board president Monica Colucci, a Miami-Dade County school board member.

Joe Gruters quietly files for Chief Financial Officer in 2026

State Sen. Joe Gruters has officially filed for Chief Financial Officer. The Sarasota Republican quietly filed paperwork on May 30 to run for the statewide office, which isn’t up for election until 2026.

He stressed that this election cycle, he’s focused on the Presidential Election. Gruters served as Florida Chair for Donald Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign, and he has worked closely with the Mar-a-Lago businessman during his campaign to return to the White House this year. He currently serves as Florida’s Republican National Committeeman.

“First, I am committed to helping President Trump win in November and I appreciate the support he has given me to run for this position,” Gruters told Florida Politics.

But he has long considered a run for the Cabinet position. Indeed, Trump already endorsed him for the position in March.

AT&T resolves issue preventing calls between carriers, company says

An AT&T network problem that prevented customers from calling people and businesses using other carriers on Tuesday was resolved, the company said. In a statement on the social media platform X, posted at 8:20 p.m., the company said it “collaborated with the other carrier to find a solution.”

According to the company’s social media accounts, it was “a known issue affecting calls between carriers.”

The issue also affected emergency communication in some areas in the afternoon, as people were unable to complete calls to 911 from AT&T devices. By the evening, AT&T said the issue with emergency services had been fixed.

Thousands of customers reported problems with AT&T and Verizon on Down Detector, which checks for technology outages at various companies. Almost all of the problems concerned cellphones, while the companies’ internet services were not affected.