Dara Kam, News Service of Florida

Despite pushback earlier this year for a plan to shutter some state prisons in Florida’s rural regions where the communities rely on their economic impact, the Florida Department of Corrections is moving forward with “strategically consolidating” several Northeast Florida prisons.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ management of COVID-19 may be boosing his countrywide cachet among Republicans but is drawing fire as Democrats and local health leaders.

Lawyers for the state are seeking to sidestep mediation ordered by a federal judge, in a legal challenge to a controversial law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at cracking down on violent protests.

Delivering a second punch to the Florida Legislature in two days, a federal judge on Thursday blocked a new law that would cap contributions to political committees backing ballot initiatives, saying the law runs afoul of the First Amendment.

Steering money from gambling to public education convinced Florida voters to sign off on a state lottery more than three decades ago.

Siding with the state in a closely watched case that has kept the cannabis industry in limbo, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 2017 law designed to carry out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.