Florida

How (and why) Gov. Ron DeSantis took control over Disney World's special district

6:23pm February 28, 2023

by Emily Olson

DeSantis dealt another blow to Walt Disney World's autonomy by signing a bill on Monday to take control of the company's development board. Critics say the move looks like retaliation.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina holds a press conference about Wednesday's shootings in Orlando.

National

Dylan Lyons, a 24-year-old TV journalist, was killed while reporting on a shooting

10:14am February 23, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Spectrum News 13 confirmed that 24-year-old reporter Dylan Lyons was killed while covering a shooting on Wednesday, along with a 9-year-old girl. Her mom and a station photojournalist were injured.

Zeus looks out of the car window as his owner picks up pet food at a Miami-Dade County Animal Services Department Drive-Thru Pet Food Bank, Thursday, June 4, 2020, at Lake Stevens Park in Miami Gardens, Fla.

National

A proposed bill in Florida would ban dogs from hanging their heads out of car windows

4:35am February 23, 2023

by Ayana Archie

Dogs would not be able to hang their heads out of car windows under a new bill proposed in Florida. The bill would additionally ban cat declawing and cosmetic animal testing.

A table showing documented cases of possible spillovers of dog coronavirus, pig coronavirus and MERS by year, animal and country.

How do pandemics begin? There's a new theory — and a new strategy to thwart them

5:00am February 15, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Animals carry millions of pathogens. So it's a daunting task to find the one with the greatest potential to spark a pandemic. Now scientists are rethinking the way they hunt for that next new virus.

The part of the form that deals with menstrual cycles and had been optional. The Florida High School Athletic Association's board of directors voted to remove the questions about high school athletes' menstrual history.

Florida high school athletes won't have to report their periods after emergency vote

5:50pm February 09, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

The Florida High School Athletic Association's board of directors has voted to remove questions about athletes' menstrual history from a required health form for participation in school sports.

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People visit Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Friday, April 22, 2022.

A new bill in Florida would give the governor control of Disney's governing district

3:08am February 07, 2023

by The Associated Press

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would take control over the board of a special governing district Walt Disney World operates in Florida under a bill introduced Monday.

National

2 abducted Missouri children are found in Florida after being missing nearly a year

1:43am February 06, 2023

by The Associated Press

Two abducted children who had been missing from Missouri for almost a year were found in a Florida grocery store with their non-custodial mother, who was taken into police custody, authorities said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration rejected the original curriculum for the African American studies course in January.

College Board's revised AP African American studies course draws new criticism

7:20pm February 01, 2023

The organization released the new curriculum for the Advanced Placement course after Florida rejected the pilot. The revisions removed units on Black feminist literary thought and Black Lives Matter.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state rejected the African American studies course because education "is about the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of ideology or the advancement of a political agenda."

Critics say Florida aims to rewrite history by rejecting African American studies

5:31am January 27, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

"One Governor should not have the power to dictate the facts of U.S. history," Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said of GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' move to ban the Advanced Placement course.

"People across the country should be concerned that legislators and governors across the country are going to do exactly what Florida is doing," says Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones, pictured here in March 2022.

Florida's AP African American studies ban should raise alarm elsewhere, lawmaker says

10:49am January 23, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat, says the proposed course "wasn't indoctrination, it wasn't ideology, it was facts." He fears blocking it will harm students in Florida and beyond.

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