Florida to bar Medicaid coverage for those seeking gender-affirming care
AdvertisementBrock Juarez, a spokesman for the Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, the agency overseeing the state’s Medicaid program, did not immediately return requests for comment. Gender-affirming care can, but does not always, include medical interventions. In April, 300 medical providers in the state wrote an open letter in the Tampa Bay Times criticizing the state’s guidance against gender-affirming care. An estimate from a 2019 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law showed there were about 9,000 people receiving gender-affirming care each year in Florida. AdvertisementMike Haller, a professor and chief of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Florida, said the decision to bar people from using Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care was “cruel and unusual punishment” for patients seeking safe, evidence-based care.
washingtonpost.comFlorida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law fuels anti-LGBTQ hate online
Research that analyzed social media posts finds that hateful references to gays, lesbians and other LGBTQ people surged online after Florida passed a law that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
Spared last year, Surfside condo owners hit with property tax bills totaling about $800,000
When a Surfside condominium tower collapsed last year killing 98 people, a wave of sympathy reached all the way to Tallahassee: Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislators forgave the unit owners’ tax bills, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
news.yahoo.comDeSantis suspends Democratic elected prosecutor who signed a pledge on abortion, transgender cases
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the Tampa Bay-area's top state prosecutor Thursday after he vowed not to prosecute potential crimes related to abortion restrictions or gender-affirming care for minors. Legal experts described the decision as alarming, effectively punishing an elected official exercising prosecutorial discretion.
washingtonpost.comDeSantis Goes Scorched Earth on Florida Prosecutor for Defying Abortion Ban
SOPA Images/GettyFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced he’s taken the extraordinary step of suspending Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for refusing to enforce some of the state’s laws—including the recent 15-week abortion ban. In a news conference in front of Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the Republican governor said Warren has “put himself publicly above the law” by stating he will not enforce some of Florida’s most controversial laws.“State Attorneys
news.yahoo.comFirst Lady Casey DeSantis announces launch of website providing resources for Floridians with cancer
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis visited Jacksonville on Wednesday to announce the launch of a website to help Floridians who have cancer and their loved ones navigate coverage and find providers, treatment options, nonprofits and other resources for day-to-day life.
Florida teachers are being told they can't mention their same-sex partners because it could violate DeSantis' ban on LGBTQ discussions in schools
The new guidance comes as Florida's controversial Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics, goes into effect.
news.yahoo.comDeSantis, citing a 1947 law on crossdressing, seeks to revoke a restaurant's liquor license after a video surfaced of children attending a drag brunch
Gov. Ron DeSantis cited a 1947 state Supreme Court ruling that "men impersonating women" in a "suggestive and indecent" fashion is a public nuisance.
news.yahoo.com‘They got DeSanitized’: Mixed reactions after governor files complaint against Miami bar
Festive Miami drag restaurant R House is caught in the crossfire. The popular Wynwood destination, where guests slug mimosas while watching elaborately dressed entertainers in sky-high heels gallivant about the space, is the target of a state complaint filed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. The state alleges that the drag shows expose minors to sexually explicit conduct and could embolden pedophiles.
news.yahoo.comGov. DeSantis takes aim at ‘ideological’ investing, wants ESG prohibitions
Continuing to target what he calls “woke” corporations, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to prohibit state investments that use “environmental, social and governance” ratings, which can include taking into account impacts of climate change.
Gov. DeSantis files a complaint about a Wynwood drag show performed in front of kids
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration filed a state complaint against Miami’s R House on Tuesday that says the Wynwood bar’s weekend Drag Show Brunches expose minors to “sexually explicit drag shows.”
news.yahoo.comThe Trailer: How DeSantis and other GOP candidates are ditching 'legacy media' for friendly outlets
Why some Republicans are done with “legacy” media, what we learned from Maryland's primaries, and why many Democrats – including the nominee for governor of South Carolina – are done with President Biden.
washingtonpost.comFla. Governor Ron DeSantis says he wants to stop 'huge problem' of Chinese investors purchasing US real estate
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke with Fox News host Laura Ingraham about his efforts to cut ties with China and the growing concern over the communist country buying up U.S. real estate — $6.1 billion worth of which was purchased by Chinese investors in the past year alone. DeSantis featured on Friday’s “The Ingraham Angle” segment to talk about several topics, including Florida being a “sanctuary state” to “freedom and prosperity” and Biden’s “war on energy” with oil prices. Ingraham then turned the governor’s attention to China and the issue of what Fox News described as China “gobbling up” U.S. land, both residential and farmland.
news.yahoo.comTrump v. DeSantis: Young conservatives debate GOP's future
When former President Donald Trump took the stage before a crowd of more than 5,000 young conservative activists in Tampa this weekend, he received the rock star's welcome he’s grown accustomed to over the seven years in which he’s reshaped the Republican Party. One night earlier, it was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who had the crowd on its feet as he headlined the day's program at Turning Point USA’s annual Student Action Summit. “To be honest, it’s like choosing between your favorite child,” said Leo Milik, 19, who lives in Barrington, Illinois, when asked whom he'd like to see as the party's next nominee.
news.yahoo.comNazi protesters show up outside young conservatives meeting in Florida
A Holocaust center in Florida and others condemned the presence of protesters holding Nazi flags and posters with antisemitic imagery outside a convention of young conservative activists that drew as speakers President Donald Trump, Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis and several Republican U.S. senators.
Charlie Crist, Nikki Fried go head to head in debate before Florida Primary
With both claiming to be Florida Democrats’ best bet to defeat Gov. Ron DeSantis in November, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried traded barbs Thursday in their only debate before next month’s primary election.
UCF removes anti-racist statements from department websites
The University of Central Florida has removed anti-racist statements from departmental websites, a move that one professor has decried as an “infringement on academic freedom” in the wake of the passage of a Republican-backed law that restricts how race can be taught. Ann Gleig, a religious studies professor, said in an email Wednesday that the anti-racist statement on the philosophy department's website and those of other departments have been taken down. The philosophy department's statement was crafted in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, she said.
news.yahoo.com'Fatigued': Republicans eyeing 2024 reluctant to support Trump election lie amid Jan. 6 hearings
Through the run of the Jan. 6 House committee hearings, Republicans eyeing the White House in 2024 as potential rivals to Donald Trump have been remarkably quiet about the attack on the Capitol.
news.yahoo.comMark Leibovich says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' reelection isn't 'a sure thing,' as Republicans increasingly view him as a potential 2024 presidential contender
"The state is pretty swingy," Leibovich said, pointing to recent narrow statewide contests. "DeSantis' reelection is not a sure thing right now."
news.yahoo.comGov. Ron DeSantis hits back at potential 2024 foe Gov. Gavin Newsom for running ads encouraging Floridians to move to California: 'They are hemorrhaging population'
Newsom ran an ad in Florida imploring residents to move to California. DeSantis said Florida's record was better than California's.
news.yahoo.comEx-Trump aide Peter Navarro says the former president should pick Ron DeSantis as his 2024 running mate instead of 'losers like Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley'
Navarro said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "should see the wisdom" of agreeing to a VP slot as a "Trump-DeSantis ticket would indeed be a juggernaut."
news.yahoo.comGovernors offer Democrats aggressive reply on guns, abortion
As President Joe Biden runs up against the limits of what he can do on abortion, gun control and other issues, some in his party want more fire and boldness than his acknowledgement of their frustration and calls imploring people to vote in November.
Final Day of Freedom Week: Last chance to save during this sales tax holiday in Florida
Thursday is the final day for the Freedom Week sales tax holiday in Florida, so if want to save big on things like concert tickets and outdoor sporting equipment, you'll need to act fast because time is running out.
Joe Rogan says Trump not welcome on his podcast: ‘I don’t want to help him’
Rogan, who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2020 and has backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if the Republican were to run for president in 2024, described Trump as a “polarizing figure” and “an existential threat to democracy itself.”
washingtonpost.comMore than half of Floridians oppose abortion bans. Will they push back at the polls?
In Florida, Republicans dominate the political landscape, but 56% of people believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Federal data show that only New York and Illinois have higher abortion rates.
latimes.com