Tag Archives: Florida

Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams On the heels of Maine officials confirming that the shooter who killed 18 people in Lewiston earlier this week was found dead, shootings in Florida, Illinois, and Indianapolis early Sunday fueled further calls for action by U.S. lawmakers to reduce gun violence. Around midnight, one person …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix As fitting for a case of this magnitude, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal will put on a rare show during oral arguments in voting-rights groups’ challenge to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional districting map — specifically, its elimination of a Black-opportunity district in North Florida. All …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix A legal challenge to a Florida law forbidding university classes that “distort” history or programs that foster diversity may turn on whether it has actually harmed the group of professors, students, and others behind their lawsuit. That’s the inference from about two hours of oral arguments …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix Gov. Ron DeSantis, back in Florida amid his presidential campaign, urged Americans to defy any new federal public health guidance to wear masks, take vaccines, or engage in social distancing in light of an upsurge in COVID cases and emergence of a new viral variant. The …

President Joe Biden on Saturday observed the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in Florida and took a walking tour of a recovering city. Notably absent was Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who declined to join Biden, citing concerns about the impact on disaster response efforts. Biden, when asked …

A judge ruled on Saturday that Governor Ron DeSantis’ new congressional districts in North Florida go against the state’s constitution. The judge ordered the Republican-controlled Legislature to create a new map. This decision is a strong criticism of the governor. He had previously rejected the Legislature’s efforts to redraw Florida’s …

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams The Republican-controlled Florida Board of Education on Thursday effectively banned Advanced Placement Psychology by notifying school district superintendents that teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity—key subjects in college-level psychology curricula—is prohibited under the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law. That means class schedules …

Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix Vice President Kamala Harris returned to Florida on Tuesday, where she continued to hit Gov. Ron DeSantis over the recent controversy about the state’s new African American history standards for K-12 public schools. A day before, DeSantis challenged her to visit him in Tallahassee and have …

Jon King, Michigan Advance On Friday, U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.) joined a growing chorus of Black Republican lawmakers to call out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his state’s new Black history education standards. DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, slammed both Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) …

Robin Opsahl, Florida Phoenix U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, campaigning in Iowa, said if elected president, he would take on the “weaponization” of the Department of Justice. Scott focused on law enforcement Thursday after a federal grand jury added three new felony charges against former President Donald Trump. At a campaign event in …

Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix Outraged at the new Black history standards in Florida, Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday blasted what she called revisionist history promoted in the state’s African American history standards approved this week by top education officials. Just two days after the State Board of Education approved …

Four Black Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday joined the growing chorus of critics opposing “racist tropes” in Florida’s new K-12 history curriculum, which includes teaching middle school students “the resurrection of one of the greatest lies America has ever told itself, that slavery benefited the enslaved.” …

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a scathing keynote address at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s national convention, criticizing the DeSantis administration in Florida for adopting new African American history standards. The state Board of Education’s recent decision on the standards has drawn criticism, with opponents arguing that they rewrite and …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix The Florida Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Sept. 8 in a test of whether the justices will respect their 1989 ruling finding protection for abortion access in the Florida Constitution’s Privacy Clause. In an order posted Friday, the court said arguments would begin at …

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams A federal judge on Monday blocked a provision of a recently enacted Florida law that the ACLU characterized as a “clear and brazen attack on civic participation in our democracy.” S.B. 7050, which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in May, would have imposed $50,000 …