Florida has executed 15 prisoners in 2025 – the most ever in a single year since 1976, when a brief national moratorium on the death penalty was lifted. Two of the five remaining executions scheduled for 2025 are set to happen in Florida. Texas and Alabama are tied for a distant second, with five executions each.
Florida
Federal Judge Skeptical of Florida Agency’s Case for Firing Biologist Over Charlie Kirk Sarcasm
Attorneys for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the agency fired biologist Brittney Brown to “prevent foreseeable disruption” after Brown reposted a sarcastic social media post about Charlie Kirk’s endorsement of occasional mass shootings if it’s the price of protecting the Second Amendment. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker was skeptical of the state’s defense: “Just because something’s inappropriate or controversial, how is it not covered by the First Amendment?” Walker asked.
Chaining Record, DeSantis Signs Another Death Warrant: Mark Geralds, Who Murdered Tressa Pettibone in 1989
Expanding a modern-era record for executions in a year, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of murdering a Bay County woman in 1989. Mark Allen Geralds is scheduled to be executed Dec. 9 for the murder of Tressa Lynn Pettibone, a 33-year-old Panama City Beach mother who was beaten and stabbed to death in her home. Pettibone’s body was discovered on the kitchen floor by her 8-year-old son, Bart, when he returned from school on Feb. 1, 1989, according to court records. Tressa Lynn Pettibone was stabbed three times in her neck.
Bill Would Require Professors to Sign Oath
State college and university administrators and instructors would have to take an oath to the nation and Florida, under a proposal filed Friday by Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville. The measure (SB 430) also calls for public school administrators and instructional personnel, including prekindergarten instructors, to perform a similar oath.
Paul Renner’s ‘Health’ Plan: Kill Obamacare, Kill Vaccine Mandates
Former House Speaker and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Paul Renner is calling for Congress to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and for the Florida Legislature to nix “medical vaccine mandates” and prohibit patients who refuse to be vaccinated from being excluded or segregated from others. While Florida leads the nation in enrollment in the federal health exchange with more than 4.6 million residents relying on the marketplace (healthcare.gov) for their insurance, Renner, called the law a failure and said its caused the costs of health care to skyrocket.
Uthmeier Sues Planned Parenthood Over Abortion Claim
Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing Planned Parenthood of falsely advertising that abortion medication is “safer than Tylenol.”
St. Johns County Will Give $200,000 to Food Pantries for Food Stamps Emergency and Suspend Utility Disconnections
The St. Johns County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously supported County Administrator Joy Andrews’s recommendation to appropriate $200,000 from the county’s emergency reserves to local food pantries through its Health and Human Services Department. The commission also supported suspending water utility disconnections for non-payment through the end of November. No similar plans have been discussed at any of Flagler County’s local governments.
Only Reduced Food Stamps Benefits Will Be Issued, and May Take Months to Get To You
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay about half of November benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, though benefits could take months to flow to recipients, the department said Monday in a brief to a federal court in Rhode Island, despite a court order to tap the necessary money to distribute them.
Florida Education Is a Model of Regression
The DeSantis administration seems happy to trash that pesky First Amendment whenever they feel like it, forbidding educators to discuss systemic racism — no learning about redlining, unequal access to justice, Jim Crow, habitual dumping of toxic waste in minority communities, or denying Black veterans access to GI Bill benefits — policing college course descriptions for naughty words such as “gender” and “decolonize,” or hyperventilating over the possibility sex might be mentioned in the classroom.
Florida Lawmakers File Bill for Stricter E-Bike Rules and Reporting
Naples Rep. Yvette Benarroch and St. Johns Rep. Kim Kendall have introduced a measure (HB 243) that seeks to strengthen Florida’s traffic safety laws by integrating electric bicycles, motorized scooters and electric motorcycles into the state’s regulatory framework. Under the legislation, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) would be required to maintain a separate database of crash statistics involving tandem-trailer trucks, motorized scooters, electric bicycles, and electric motorcycles to support future policy development and public safety initiatives.
State Defends Firing Employee Over Charlie Kirk Social Media Post
Disputing allegations that they violated First Amendment rights, Florida wildlife officials Thursday argued that a federal judge should reject a request to reinstate a biologist who was fired because of a social-media post after the murder of conservative and openly racist, misogynistic and homophobic activist Charlie Kirk.
Overruling Judge, Attorney General Says Prosecutors and Staff May Bring Guns into Courtrooms
In an Oct. 20 letter posted to the attorney general’s website, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Sarasota’s Republican State Attorney, Ed Brodsky, that he and his staff should be allowed to bring their guns into courtrooms — even though the Chief Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit decreed otherwise in a September order.
Sen. Tom Leek Again Files Bill to Create Museum of Black History Board in St. Johns, After Setback Earlier This Year
Sen. Tom Leek of Ormond Beach introduced Senate Bill 308, which would create an Administrative Board that must be formed by July 31, 2026. The panel will oversee the museum’s construction, operation, and administration — a key step in fulfilling the vision outlined in legislation authorizing the museum’s development. Leek had filed a similar bill last year. It cleared every committee unanimously. It cleared the House and Senate unanimously, along $750,000 for actual construction. Gov. DeSantis vetoed the funding, and Leek’s bill died.
4.7 Million Floridians Have Obamacare. Here’s What Happens If They Lose Their Subsidies.
The number of people insured under the ACA in each state varies. But the state with the largest number of residents on marketplace insurance plans is Florida. About 4.7 million Florida residents are covered through these plans, representing 27% of the state’s under-65 population, compared to the national average of 8.8%. Of those on marketplace plans, 98% receive a subsidy at some level. There are several reasons why this rate is so much higher in Florida than elsewhere.
‘There Will be Some Changes’ to SB180, Sen. Tom Leek Says of Law Favoring Developers At Home Rule’s Expense
State legislators are discussing the possibility of revising a new law that has drawn legal challenges because it blocks cities and counties from approving “more restrictive or burdensome” changes to growth plans. Senate Majority Leader Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, said Monday during a Manatee County legislative delegation meeting that he has talked with sponsors of the 2025 legislation and that “tweaks” are being discussed.
State Kills Norman Grim for 1998 Murder of Cynthia Chapman, Record 15th Execution of the Year
After declining to fight the execution in court, Norman Grim was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison for the 1998 sexual assault and murder of a woman in Santa Rosa County. Grim, 65, was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m., becoming the 15th inmate executed in Florida this year — a modern-era record.
Democratic Lawmakers Urge DeSantis To Declare Emergency and Buy Supplies for Food Pantries
Florida Democrats in the Legislature are imploring Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency and use state money to buy food and direct it to food pantries as nearly 3 million people lose access to a federal food assistance program.
Palm Coast Will Not Join 25 Local Governments in Lawsuit Against SB180, Which Disables Development Regulation
The Palm Coast City Council today said it is declining to join a lawsuit by 25 other local governments against a new state law, known as SB180, that has sharply restricted governments’ regulatory authority on local development. Bunnell, Flagler Beach and county government have also declined. Council member Theresa Pontieri pushed back against Mayor Mike Norris’s suggestion to join the lawsuit, saying the city should not risk its political capital by alienating lawmakers whose help and appropriations it needs, at a time when lobbyists are near certain that the law will be amended by next March.
2.9 Million Floridians Will Lose Food Stamps Benefits Saturday if Shutdown Doesn’t End
Nearly 3 million Floridians who rely on federal food assistance will see their benefits end in November due to the federal government shutdown. Florida has the fourth largest SNAP enrollment nationwide with 2.94 million relying on the assistance for their food security, behind California, Texas, and New York. Nationwide, 41.7 million people rely on SNAP benefits, August 2025 data show.
Florida Cabinet Questions Voucher Dollars Going to Muslim Schools, But Not Christian Schools
All three members of the Florida Cabinet are questioning the legality of the state voucher system that has steered taxpayer-funded scholarships to private Islamic schools that they contend undermine “Western” values. Attorney General Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Ingoglia, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, all Republicans and allies of the governor, spoke against extending vouchers to the Hifz Academy and Bayaan Academy, Islamic schools in Tampa now accepting these scholarships.
When Florida Sends Goons to Intimidate Government Critics
Retired Florida resident James O’Gara sent a postcard to Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, saying simply, “You lack values.” Soon after the postcard, two guys in armored vests emblazoned “POLICE” showed up at the O’Gara home and asked if James O’Gara had mailed that little missive to Tallahassee. They didn’t identify themselves, but the O’Garas checked with Largo police and found out the men were from the Department of Financial Services’ investigations unit.
Bill Would Require Florida Landlords to Keep Rentals Well Air Conditioned
Winter Haven Republican Rep. Jon Albert’s measure (HB 241) would require sufficient cooling for rental properties, such as permanent or securely affixed appliances, such as central air systems, packaged thermal air conditioners, mini-split heat pumps, and window units, if local codes permit. Landlords would be obligated to provide and maintain cooling equipment that is capable of keeping the indoor air temperature of habitable rooms below 82 degrees Fahrenheit when the outdoor heat index is at or exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Floridians Are Hurtling Towards Economic Disaster
Florida is the second most distressed state in the union in terms of its residents’ debt obligations. The state saw a 23% increase in the share of people with distressed bank accounts between 2024 and 2025, the data show. In addition, Florida holds the sixth-highest overall share of people with accounts in distress, at 7.3%. In human terms, this financial distress looks like a sharp increase in bankruptcy filings; residents with accounts in forbearance or deferred payments; America’s lowest average credit scores; and higher prices for groceries, rent, mortgages, gasoline, and health care.
Trump Endorses Randy Fine, Sharply Steepening Hill Climb for Gambaro and Furry
President Donald Trump is giving his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to U.S. Rep. Randy Fine. Challenger Charles Gambaro, currently a Palm Coast City Council member who had a role in the final months of the first Trump administration, recently expressed confidence that Trump would endorse him over the former state lawmaker, but clearly that’s not coming to pass. Will Furry, the Flagler County school board member, is also among the numerous candidates running against Fine.
Florida Judge Rules Concealed Weapons Ban for Under-21 Unconstitutional
Siding with a 19-year-old man who was spotted with a gun in his waistband, a Broward County circuit judge Friday ruled that a state law barring people under age 21 from carrying concealed weapons violates Second Amendment rights.
Bear Warriors United File Injunction to Halt Bear Hunt
Arguing that Florida’s decision to hold a bear hunt in December is not based on “sound” science and research, the group Bear Warriors United, a conservation group, asked a judge for an emergency temporary injunction to halt the hunt.
DeSantis Ridicules Spate of House Proposals to Cut Property Taxes as ‘Political Game’
Florida House members have proposed seven constitutional amendments for the 2026 ballot that would slash the state’s property tax. Gov. DeSantis dismissed them all, saying that “placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes,” and describing it as “a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.”
DeSantis Signs 17th Death Warrant of the Year, More than 6 States Combined, Including Texas
In what could be Florida’s 17th execution this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a death warrant for Richard Barry Randolph, convicted of raping and murdering Putnam County convenience-store manager Minnie Ruth McCollum in 1988. The 17 death warrants are more than the number of executions in six states combined, including Texas, which has the second-most executions so far this year, with five, and Alabama, third-most with four.
Ending Property Taxes Is Tempting. It’s Also Practically Foolish.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have been promoting the idea of doing away with property taxes for homeowners, or at least severely lowering them. That poses problems. The sales tax — would have to be raised to replace the revenue. That’s regressive: the sales tax bears no relation to your ability to pay. There’s also a logical flaw in the professed GOP belief that you never truly own your home if you have to pay taxes on it. It’s not a penalty. You’re paying to maintain cops on the beat, libraries for everybody, to fix potholes.
Two ‘Vertiports’–Airborne Uber–Under Construction in Orlando and Tampa
Two vertiports to fly people around are being constructed at the FDOT SunTrax testing facility in Central Florida. This airborne Uber concept came after DeSantis discussed vertiports during meetings part of his international trade mission to the Paris Air Show this Summer. Drivers know Interstate 4 can be a particularly nightmarish trek from Orlando to Tampa, which could benefit if the vertiports take off.
Millions Protest Trump Authoritarianism: A Roundup from Around the Country
Millions of Americans packed streets, parks and town squares across the United States Saturday for No Kings day, according to the organizers of the massive day of demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump’s administration — from his deployment of troops to cities to his targeting of political opponents. They showed up at more than 2,600 events for the second organized No Kings day in America’s largest cities like Atlanta, New York City and Chicago, to smaller metro areas and towns including Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Bismarck, North Dakota; Palm Coast, Florida; and Hammond, Louisiana.
Miami’s Bonfire to Trump’s Vanities
Florida is home of the Waste Pro Garbage Truck Museum, the Bike-Riding Parrots of Sarasota Jungle Gardens and Big Betsy, Islamorada’s 30-foot high spiny lobster, but none of it will compare to the the Trump Presidential Library Hotel and Massage Parlor soon to be built in Miami on land Miami Dade College secretly voted to give to the state. The state will, in turn, give it to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, which means the place will be controlled by the Trump family.
Food Stamps May Run Out in 2 Weeks if Shutdown Persists
As the federal government shutdown extends to day 17, and with congressional leaders nowhere near negotiating, state officials are beginning to raise concerns of potential cuts to nutrition assistance benefits that feed millions if the government isn’t reopened.
At ‘No Kings’ Protests in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, Cheer, Energy and Defiance in Throngs, But Effects Elusive
What there was more than anything at today’s trio of “No Kings” demonstrations in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, where many hundreds gathered and protested as millions did across the country, was cheer and charm as much as challenge and conviction, making you wonder where all that energy was as Trump’s opponents floundered in gloomy defeat a mere 11 months ago. It made you wonder where all that energy is even now, especially now, as his political opposition continues to grope for relevance.
Space X’s Destructive Plans for its Starship-Super Heavy Rockets in Florida
Space X, the aerospace company owned by Elon Musk, wants to make big changes at Cape Canaveral, boosting the number of rockets it annual launches and lands there to 44, as well as boosting the size of the rocket involved. “Starship-Super Heavy” is “the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed,” according to the Space X website. Floridians are concerned about increased pollution, rampant water waste, a huge loss of public access, lots more sonic booms and — not to be rude — the tendency of Space X rockets to blow up. There have been four explosions so far this year.
Florida GOP Lawmakers File Slew of Proposals Slashing Property Taxes
After months of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia promising Floridians a chance to substantially reduce if not outright eliminate property taxes, eight Republican members of the Florida House filed legislation Thursday to achieve that goal.
Florida Prisons Chief Wants ‘Staggering’ Half a Billion Dollars Next Year Just for Operations, Not Salaries
Sounding as desperate as he ever has since being appointed four years ago, Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) Secretary Ricky Dixon asked a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday for more than $512 million for next fiscal year to maintain the prison system. “It is a staggering amount of money that we’re asking for. I’m aware of that,” Dixon told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice. Adding to the scale of the needs, he said that amount did not include funding for salaries of correction officers, which he said rank among the lowest for its size in the country.
Bill Would Require Florida Teachers to Take Oath
A bill filed Monday by state Rep. Tom Fabricio would require teachers to take an oath to the Constitution and nonpartisanship. The bill, HB 147, would require teachers to, “before entering upon the duties of a classroom teacher,” take the oath. The language is similar to oaths taken by lawyers, doctors, and public officials.
Students Protesting Gaza Genocide File Lawsuit Against USF, Alleging Violations of Constitutional Rights
Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, a group protesting in support of Palestinian rights, filed suit last week against the University of South Florida, claiming the university violated members’ constitutional rights after expelling one student and disciplining others.
Mystery Development Company Plans to Buys Marineland Dolphin Adventure for $7.1 Million, Outbidding Hutson
Marineland Dolphin Adventure, the world’s first oceanarium and for most of its 87 years a Florida tourist destination with a storied past, was sold at auction on Monday for $7.1 million to an apparent shell company that goes by the name of Delightful Development LLC. If the name augurs its future intentions for the 5.1-acre property, the site’s days as an oceanarium are approaching their end, and the 17 dolphins there, six of them born in Marineland, will have to find new homes.
Only 3 States Passed License Plate Reader Laws This Year Despite Concerns
Lawmakers in at least 16 states this year introduced bills to regulate the use of automated license plate readers responsible for collecting large amounts of data on drivers across the country. But just three states — Arkansas, Idaho and Virginia — enacted laws this session that establish or amend rules for law enforcement agencies using the high-tech camera systems and the manner in which license plate data should be stored. And this month, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have restricted use of such data.
Florida’s 1st Public School Chaplain Is Trump Disciple at War with Church-State Wall
Rev. Jack Martin, the state’s first public school chaplain, twice ran for Congress, wrote an ode to Charlie Kirk, preached the need to “battle alongside Trump” and defended the Jan. 6 assault on Congress as “the ratification of the theft of the presidency.”
He identifies with the Black Robe Regiment, a coalition of pastors committed to tearing down the wall of separation between church and state.
Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Cuts $3.8 Billion from Florida’s Healthcare System, Hurting Hospitals and the Poor
President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will cut $3.8 billion from Florida’s health care system, with that money primarily affecting Florida hospitals. Five Florida programs are over a certain cap and currently receive $9 billion. That total will drop to $5.2 billion in state-directed payments by 2034-2035, Meyer told the group of lawmakers after facing earlier questions in the week about how children are being disenrolled from the Florida KidCare program for not paying their premiums.
DeSantis Signs Warrant to Kill Bryan Jennings, Murderer of 6-Year-Old Girl, for 16th Execution of the Year
Bryan Frederick Jennings, 66, is scheduled to be executed Nov. 13 and could be a record 16th inmate put to death by lethal injection this year in Florida. The state has carried out 13 executions and is slated to put to death Samuel Smithers on Tuesday and Norman Grim on Oct. 28. Jennings was convicted of murdering Rebecca Kunash on May 11, 1979, in Merritt Island.
With Shutdown, Democrats Finally Take a Clear and Critical Stand
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will add $4 trillion to the national debt and throw 20 million people off Obamacare over the life of the bill, which lets supplemental premium subsidies enacted during the Biden administration expire. It would more than double premium costs for Obamacare recipients. The cost of extending the subsidies over the next 10 years is $350 billion, or 8 percent of the Trump tax cuts. This is what the Democrats have been willing to shut the government over. It’s about time.
Florida Could Face Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Food Stamp Costs Under Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill
Currently, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits — commonly known as food stamps — distributed by the state are fully funded by the federal government. But under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed this summer by President Donald Trump, that could change on Oct. 1, 2027, when states could be required to contribute money based on payment error rates. The error rate isn’t based on fraud but overpayments and underpayments. Benefits are calculated based on household sizes and net monthly incomes, which can change and might not be immediately reported.
Flagler Cares’ Carrie Baird Is Among ‘Women Shaping Florida’s Future’ at State Awards, a First for Flagler County
Close to 200 people gathered at Tallahassee’s DoubleTree Hotel Wednesday evening to honor “women who are shaping Florida’s future, who are leading, innovating and lifting others up as they rise,” as Shevaun Harris, Secretary, Agency for Health Care Administration, a keynote speaker and one of the honorees, told the audience. One of the women was Carrie Baird, Chief Executive Officer of Flagler Cares, the 10-year-old, Palm Coast-based nonprofit. It was the first time that the leader of an organization in Flagler County was the recipient of the News Service of Florida’s annual Above and Beyond Award.
Florida National Guard Can’t Retain Enough Troops Or Recruit New Ones
Compared to other states, the Florida National Guard ranked 53rd out of 54 in the guardsmen-to-citizen ratio, said Major General John Haas, an Adjutant General of Florida with the Department of Military Affairs. Haas warned during a Senate hearing that the Florida National Guard should be more than double its current size. He said Florida has the same size force as much smaller states like Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
Derek Barrs Is Finally Confirmed as Administrator of Motor Carrier Safety Administration After Fractious Senate Maneuvers
The U.S. Senate in a strict party-line 51-47 vote Tuesday night confirmed Derek Barrs, the former Flagler County school board member, administrator of the federal Transportation Department’s Motor Carrier Safety Administration, seven months after President Trump nominated Barrs to the post.
Florida’s Colleges and Universities May Be Forced Each to Change a Street Name for Charlie Kirk
Every one of Florida’s 40 public universities and colleges would have to redesignate a road, a street or an avenue after Charlie Kirk, the extremist controversialist who was assassinated last month, if a bill introduced by a Dade City Republican becomes law. Revered among wide swaths of the right, Kirk had a long record of making divisive and bigoted comments. It is likely the bill will generate significant debate if it is taken up in committees.