DESANTIS

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom squared off in a a contentious debate Thursday night and News4JAX is running some of the statements they made through the Trust Index. The two clashed on several issues including the economy, and gun control, and the city of Jacksonville was also mentioned in the governors’ discussion about crime rates.

Lawyers representing Black voters told a three-judge federal panel that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the U.S. Constitution by deliberately dismantling a congressional district that favored Black candidates.

Nearly one week after a gunman killed three Black people in New Town, National civil rights leader Al Sharpton, the family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and the Anti-Defamation League announced plans Monday to bring a hate crime summit to Jacksonville.

President Biden to talk about what the federal government can do to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in Florida and the recent deadly wildfires in Maui.

The racially motivated murders in Jacksonville’s New Town community have created grief and additional strain in an urban neighborhood that was already experiencing challenges. There are no grocery stores in New Town, no restaurants, or access to shopping.

Community members, faith and city leaders joined together Sunday at a prayer vigil to remember the live of three victims who were violently killed in a Saturday’s mass shooting at a Dollar General.

Gov. DeSantis is also making news after addressing the topic, on a conservative talk show, where DeSantis is urging patience and hoping for no hurricanes this season.

A new law will increase the legal age to drive a golf cart in Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a bill that will allow school districts to use cameras designed to capture images of drivers who illegally pass school buses.

Penalties will get stiffer for committing crimes against police dogs under a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Sources close to Florida Gov. DeSantis said he plans to officially file with the Federal Election Commission to formalize his presidential candidacy.

The fallout from Jacksonville’s mayoral election is making waves in the Republican race for President.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said Florida “stands ready” and will send Florida National Guard troops and law-enforcement officers to Texas to help with border control as he nears an expected announcement of a White House bid.

The law under public records no longer requires the release of photos, video, audio recordings, and autopsy reports related to domestic violence.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Gov. Ron DeSantis and others on his Central Florida Tourism Oversight District for “declaratory and injunctive relief.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new law in March that impacts the ability to file civil lawsuits in the state of Florida.

The American Association of State Troopers (AAST) nationally recognized Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Master Trooper Toni Schuck as the 2023 Trooper of the Year on Friday.

One day after Governor DeSantis signed new legislation which lowers the threshold for a jury vote on death penalty cases, there's one very important unanswered question, in which cases will the law apply?

Senate Bill 256 would place new restrictions on Unions.

At its statewide conference in Orlando, member organizations of the Florida NAACP voted unanimously to recommend that the national NAACP board issue a nationwide travel advisory against moving or visiting the Sunshine State.

Several groups are now challenging Florida’s rules that restrict what books and media are available in public schools.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hosted a roundtable discussion Monday in South Florida.

A poll of more than 800 students, and a handful of faculty, staff and others, at the University of North Florida showed overwhelming approval of the institution’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, programs and courses.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that gives him control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district.

Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, has collected information from the state’s public universities about the number and ages of individuals who have received or even sought gender-affirming care over the past five years.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will hold a news conference Monday at a state college in Naples at 10 a.m.

The Florida High School Athletic Association's 16-member board of directors, made up of 14 men and 2 women, will vote on whether or not to make high school athletes report on their menstrual cycle.

Gov. Ron DeSantis handily won his reelection Tuesday night by the largest margin of any Florida governor in 40 years.

Charlie Crist, the democratic candidate for governor visited a Jacksonville nonprofit, and Governor DeSantis rallied voters in Clay County Friday to campaign for the midterm election.

An aircrew from Air Station Miami, U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin, rescued several people stranded in Sanibel Island Thursday. On Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard District 7 shared the body camera video of the rescues.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on Sunday morning urged Jacksonville residents to be prepared as the city is expected to feel the effects of Tropical Storm Ian in the coming days.

On the heels of a federal lawsuit filed against Governor Ron DeSantis, the State of Florida and other state officials over transporting 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard from Texas… DeSantis’ challenger in the governor’s race - Charlie Crist - held a virtual meeting with leaders in the Hispanic community. They allege the migrants were misled before boarding the planes, which they say is a violation of the law.

DeSantis said more flights and buses were likely after he secured $12 million in relocation funding from the state legislature.

A Florida law is getting international attention from a special United Nations committee aimed at combatting racial inequality around the world.

Gov. DeSantis made his rounds around Florida Sunday on his Education Tour. He made a stop in Jacksonville and brought out some of the candidates he’s endorsing for school board positions in the area.

Some education workers worry the governor’s new plan to fix the statewide teacher shortage could backfire.

Governor Ron DeSantis said he will not declare a state of emergency against monkeypox. However, Florida has the third most cases in the nation.

The Georgia Department of Public Health on Wednesday announced the Coastal Health District’s monkeypox vaccination program was expanding.

Two candidates are seeking the votes for Clay County School Board, District 5. This is a nonpartisan office appearing on the August ballot and will be selected by all voters in the district, regardless of party.

A new social media law took effect in Florida Friday. The law takes aim at social media companies silencing political candidates.

The new law is in effect for now because the judge’s order won’t have an impact until he puts the ruling in writing.

The child welfare bill focuses on encouraging fathers to take an active role in their children’s lives and provides grants to community-based membership programming.

The exemptions apply to both in-store and online purchases.

Just in time for the summer, starting July 1, you can save money on entertainment purchases and recreational sporting and outdoor items.

The biggest change this year involves Florida’s congressional districts.

This weekend, flags for Governor Ron DeSantis were up, and some people are asking, 'Can political flags be posted on a ship that’s run by a non-profit?'

Equality Florida said they want to ensure Duval County provides a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQ students.

Governor DeSantis announced a $10 million budget allocation to support all eight of Florida's search and rescue teams.

In the wake of the Texas school shooting, lawmakers in Florida send school safety bill to he Governor.

An appeals court Friday reinstated a stay against a circuit judge’s decision that blocked a congressional redistricting plan pushed through the Legislature by Gov. Ron DeSantis, pointing to a “high likelihood” that the judge erred.

Florida education leaders are clamping down on state-prohibited topics in school textbooks.

Governor DeSantis on Monday signed a bill designating Nov. 7 as an annual Communism Victims Day.

The News4JAX I-TEAM is digging through thousands of documents just released by the Florida Department of Education. They reveal what textbook reviewers flagged as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other prohibited topics which led to the rejection of 54 unpublished math books. Governor DeSantis has targeted Critical Race Theory -- saying the book authors are trying to ‘indoctrinate” Florida students.

A wide-ranging tax package topped by sales-tax “holidays” and a gas-tax break was one of 17 bills that the Legislature formally sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday.

News4JAX has been speaking with politicians on both sides of the aisle about what the end of Roe could mean for abortion rights in Florida.

More than 520 Florida manatees have died so this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Governor DeSantis signed the new congressional maps into law on Friday -- triggering voting rights groups to sue Florida saying it will diminish the state’s Black representation and benefit Republicans.

In its review of 132 math textbooks that were submitted for consideration, the Florida Department of Education rejected 54, claiming they contain ‘prohibited topics’ such as critical race theory, social-emotional learning and Common Core frameworks.

The survey is in response to HB 233 signed into law in 2021 by Governor DeSantis, who, at the time, claimed universities were prone to suppressing certain political viewpoints, though he did not cite any specific examples or elaborate on which viewpoints were being suppressed.

All Florida high school students must pass a financial literacy class to graduate starting in fall 2023.

A new OCEARCH research center could be coming to Mayport.

Governor DeSantis signed a bill eliminating the annual student assessments – in favor of a “progress monitoring” system.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is condemning Disney’s response to Florida’s bill banning discussion of sexual orientation and identity in some classrooms, calling the company “woke” and saying it’s fallen for “phony hysteria” from the corporate media.

The House passed the bill last month in a 74-41 party-line vote.

Gov. DeSantis has indicated that he is in favor of the measure.

Governor DeSantis is supporting a bill that would prohibit hospitals from taking medical licenses from physicians who speak out on issues like COVID-19.

Weekly coronavirus cases have been steadily rising in the Sunshine State over the past three weeks, with a 24% increase from the week of Nov. 26 to the week of Dec. 3 alone.

As part of a three-year plan, DeSantis is asking for the Legislature to sign off on $276 million for more than 76 projects across Florida.

The Jacksonville Public Library’s main location downtown will reopen to the public next month, the city announced Tuesday.

Florida hospitals are now facing a dilemma, stuck between conflicting federal and state policies on employee vaccine mandates.

DeSantis said the state’s lawsuit is aimed at protecting Floridian’s right to work and combating federal overreach.

Health care groups point to it as evidence that the state’s “Seniors First” vaccine rollout strategy paid off.

To honor the memory of Deputy Joshua Moyers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered American and state flags in certain parts of Nassau County to be flown at half staff Saturday.

Terran Orbital, a micro-satellite company, plans to invest $300 million in a massive commercial spacecraft and constellation facility to Space Florida on Merritt Island, Gov. DeSantis and the company announced Monday.

A bill regarding abortion in Florida titled the “Florida Heartbeat Act” was filed by Florida Representative Webster Barnaby on Wednesday morning.

Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing $5,000 hiring bonuses and tuition at an academy to boost recruiting.

During a Wednesday afternoon news conference on the COVID-19 crisis in America, President Joe Biden said he is directing the secretary of education to take action against governors who attempt to block school mask mandates.

Dozens protested in front of Baptist Health’s downtown Jacksonville campus on Saturday, saying hospital workers should not be required to get COVID-19 vaccinations.

For the first time since the Florida daily COVID dashboard was taken down in June, Gov. DeSantis has indicated it might be a good idea to start daily reporting again.

Florida’s governor again downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday, warning instead about rising rates of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Duval County students and staff taking part in summer activities were not spared the scourge of COVID-19, as more than 200 tested positive between June 3 and July 28, according to data provided by Duval County Public Schools (DCPS).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday changed its guidance on wearing face coverings in schools and is now recommending universal masking when students and teachers return to class next month.

New data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows coronavirus hospitalizations in Florida have tripled in three weeks.

Gov. Ron DeSantis told young members of Cuba’s military to “live in the history books” by overthrowing their nation’s communist leadership, as he pushed President Joe Biden to bring Wi-Fi access back to people protesting on the island nation.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign is getting into the retail business with some novelty items designed to appeal to his supporters’ fatigue with coronavirus.

Starting July 1st, a new Florida law will require high school students in grades ninth and eleventh to learn CPR and first aid.

Lawmakers may have left for home after wrapping up the 2021 legislative session, but they are already planning to be back in the Capitol in two weeks.

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING — Sinovac said on Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac is safe and effective in children ages 3-17. State-owned Sinopharm, who has two COVID-19 vaccines, is also investigating the effectiveness of its vaccines in children. The House vote came just before the state health department reported that more than 1 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered within the state. State officials say about 2.9 million vaccine doses have been given to about 1.1 million people so far in Arizona. ___LISBON, Portugal — Portugal resumed administering AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, a week after temporarily halting its use.

“This year has been a big challenge for everyone in our industry,” said Nammour Nammour, owner of St. Marys Seafood & More. “Sales have plummeted.”A year ago at St. Marys Seafood & More, the mood was one of devastation. “Up where we live up in Brunswick, we’ve noticed more people going to restaurants, not that we go to many restaurants,” Deb Swan said. “We go to two up in Brunswick where we live.”At St. Marys Seafood & More, the hope is more workers will apply. “If anyone needs a job, come see me.”Because when the pandemic ends, the restaurant hopes its business does not.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Starting Saturday morning, both the Pfizer and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at the Gateway Mall, Normandy Community Center and Hammond Senior Center sites in Jacksonville. The Duval County Alert System sent an alert Saturday morning about who is eligible for coronavirus vaccines. FEMA said approximately 790 people were vaccinated Saturday at Gateway Mall. AdThe Department of Health said that as of Friday, 137,499 people have completed their series of vaccines in Duval County. The site at Gateway Mall is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.Gov.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said she is ordering state offices she controls to ignore an upcoming order to lower flags to half-staff to honor conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who died last week. “Lowering to half-staff the flag of the United States of America is a sacred honor that pays respect to fallen heroes and patriots. “Therefore, I will notify all state offices under my direction to disregard the Governor’s forthcoming order to lower flags for Mr. Limbaugh – because we will not celebrate hate speech, bigotry, and division. The statement from the commissioner marks the latest in an ongoing back-and-forth between Fried, the only Democrat elected to a statewide office, and DeSantis, a Republican. It’s expected that Fried will challenge DeSantis for governor when he is up for reelection in 2022.

Ron DeSantis called President Joe Biden a “lockdowner” when he was asked about a domestic travel ban report on Fox News. He said lockdowns won’t help with the increase of COVID-19 cases, and cases of the new variant. DeSantis said he doesn’t agree with the reports that said the Biden administration will place a domestic travel ban on certain states including Florida. This despite a White House spokesperson saying as recently as Thursday that there are currently no bans of domestic travel being considered. Lockdowns don’t work.

In the last week, we saw thousands of people in our area get the COVID-19 vaccine, despite a rising number of cases of the virus. Do you remember when the state hit 1 million cases on Dec. 1? Just over 11,000 new cases were reported Sunday, but Florida also surpassed a million people vaccinated on Sunday. With nearly 75,000 cases in Duval, and over 50,000 people vaccinated, the percent positivity for new cases is at 9.3%. Some people asked why you’re doing some of the counties you’re doing; there’s some counties that have really big health infrastructure, Orlando, Jacksonville, has big infrastructure, a lot of hospitals.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Beginning Monday, Duval County residents 65 years and above can get COVID-19 vaccines at two Jacksonville senior citizen centers not by appointment but based on their birth month. RELATED: Moncrief church to administer 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine | VA to hold drive-thru vaccination clinics for certain veteransAll patients must provide a photo ID that shows their birthdate and proves Duval County residency. The Florida Department of Health in Duval County began giving Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday to anyone 65 years of age and older and health care workers who were able to get an appointment. New appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine will be added through the online system every Thursday at 5 p.m., the health department said. Curry said he’s grateful to the scientists, doctors and medical professionals who worked so hard to make a vaccine available to the public so quickly.

The House and Senate on Wednesday released identical bills for consideration during the 2021 legislative session, which will start March 2. Neither the House bill (HB 7) nor the Senate measure (SB 72) contains lawsuit protections for health-care providers, which makes some health-care lobbyists uneasy. But physicians, nursing homes and other facilities aren’t being ignored, said Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who is sponsoring the Senate version. (Ron) DeSantis allowing the Legislature to adjourn without a sufficiently strong health-care liability legislation.”But Jacksonville health care attorney Chris Nuland, a seasoned lobbyist, doesn’t like the bifurcated approach. To place them in legal jeopardy for their sacrifice is inexcusable, and the Legislature should address that injustice immediately.”Attempts to contact the Florida Hospital Association and the Florida Health Care Association, the largest statewide nursing home group, were not immediately successful.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The state Florida Department of Health on Wednesday reported 11,541 additional cases of the coronavirus, including 824 cases in Duval County. That’s the most cases reported in a single day in Jacksonville since July 16, the peak of the pandemic in the city. Also Wednesday, there were seven deaths reported in Duval County, part of 125 deaths that were reported statewide. St. Johns County saw its biggest one-day increase in cases since the start of the pandemic on Wednesday with 155 additional cases. Florida and Duval County daily cases reported since June 1As the number of cases has surged in Florida this fall, more COVID-19 patients also have required hospitalization.

Also Tuesday, 94 deaths were reported in Florida, including six deaths in Northeast Florida counties. Clay County, which had the biggest one-day increase in cases on Tuesday since Sept. 12 (115), reported three deaths. Two deaths were reported in Baker County and one death was reported in Union County. According to the health department, 1,143,794 people in Florida have now tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. Florida and Duval County daily cases reported since June 1As the number of cases has surged in Florida this fall, more COVID-19 patients also have required hospitalization.

Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, separately filed measures that would allow a business holding a state alcohol license to sell or deliver spirited beverages by the package for off-site consumption. The proposals would require the liquid to be in a sealed container and to be part of a food order. We think it is a process that should continue, so we are looking to establish it in state law,” Brandes said on Friday. Brandes isn’t seeking to alter existing law that requires restaurants to reseal partially consumed bottles before patrons leave. In a 74-page report, the RESET task force, co-chaired by executives from Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, the Florida Retail Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business Florida, called existing rules restricting carryout alcohol “antiquated and no longer necessary.”DeSantis in September backed the idea of allowing carryout alcoholic beverages to become permanent.