News Service of Florida

Voting-rights groups went to the state Supreme Court on Monday as they try to keep alive the possibility of blocking a congressional redistricting plan that would make it harder to elect a Black U.S. House member this year in North Florida.

Dealing a major setback to Gov. Ron DeSantis, a three-judge appellate panel on Monday ruled that a 2021 Florida law targeting social-media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter unconstitutionally restricts the companies’ First Amendment rights.

Heading into a special session next week to address the state’s troubled property-insurance market, legislative leaders said late Friday they will focus on issues such as roof-damage claims, litigation and reinsurance.

Florida is among a half dozen states where the population was undercounted during the 2020 census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that increases the punishment for trafficking fentanyl and could lead to dealers facing death sentences or life in prison if methamphetamine they distribute kills someone.

The state has asked an appeals court to reinstate a stay on a circuit judge’s ruling that blocked a congressional redistricting plan pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. An emergency motion argues that a Leon County circuit judge erred last week when he issued a temporary injunction against the plan — and when he lifted a stay on the ruling Monday.

Florida House Democrats are poised to select a new incoming leader on Tuesday, after a would-be leader dropped his re-election bid amid sexual harassment allegations. Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, says he will no longer seek a 4th term.

Requests by three insurers are the latest evidence of problems in Florida’s property-insurance system, as lawmakers prepare to return to Tallahassee next week for a special session on the issue.

A federal judge has scheduled a trial for early next year in a legal battle over a new state law that restricts teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools.

Gov. Ron DeSantis pointed to abortion-rights protests outside the houses of U.S. Supreme Court justices as he announced signing a measure intended to prevent picketing and protests outside people’s homes.