Governor Ron DeSantis has signed the new state budget. It includes more money for the environment as well as pay increases for law enforcement and teachers. Regan McCarthy reports additional tax relief is also part of this year’s spending plan.
Last week, the U-S Supreme Court ordered Alabama to add a second African American majority congressional district after finding the state’s map had discriminated against Black voters. As Valerie Crowder reports, the ruling is considered a win for voting rights advocates who want Florida’s map redrawn.
Florida executed a double murderer Thursday night. The moment came nearly four decades after Duane Owen committed two horrific killings. It also followed weeks of last-minute legal wranglings over Owen’s sanity. Steve Bousquet was a media witness at the execution in Raiford.
Florida’s culture wars are reaching the state’s public higher education system, especially when it comes to issues like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. A new law, for example, prohibits funding for DEI programs and tries to restrict speech around race and culture in classrooms. Florida’s two public universities that serve minorities have largely been silent as the debate rages around them.
As Gov. Ron DeSantis’ continues to boast about his plans to strengthen border security, several immigration advocacy groups are pushing back. They say the state’s newest anti-immigration laws will hurt it, in the long run.
A broad transportation bill recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis includes a component that directly affects drivers. It expands Florida’s Move Over Law to include any disabled vehicle. But as Gina Jordan reports, it won’t go into effect right away.
Finally tonight, a Journey from Puerto Rico, to South Georgia. Mundi the elephant has been at a refuge in southwest Georgia for one month. She came from a Puerto Rican zoo that was in such bad shape, its animals were being moved to sanctuaries on the continent under order from the U.S. Department of Justice. Mundi had been the zoo’s star attraction, and her departure prompted so much controversy that armed federal guards saw her off the island. Now as Margie Menzel reports, her home in a South Georgia sanctuary, is an idyllic one.