Ron DeSantis

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Fla.'s State Bird May Be Booted From Its Nest After 99 Years

Bill sponsored by GOP lawmaker wants the flamingo swapped in for the northern mockingbird

(Newser) - Florida lawmakers are mulling a question for the birds this session: Should the mockingbird give way to the flamingo as the official state bird? State Rep. Jim Mooney, a Republican from the Florida Keys, is leading the charge with a campaign that leans hard into pink, complete with flamingo-themed ties...

DeSantis Calls Special Session to Redraw Congressional Map

GOP governor puts session on calendar for April to redraw Florida districts

(Newser) - Florida's governor is pushing the congressional map fight right up to the wire. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday ordered a special legislative session for April 20-24 to redraw Florida's US House districts, timing it just days before the current April 24 candidate filing deadline. He said the extra session...

DeSantis Mulls State Charges Against Maduro

Fla. governor backs seeking separate state case over Venezuela leader's alleged drug crimes

(Newser) - Florida could try to pile on Nicolas Maduro's legal troubles. Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week that the attorney general's office in Florida is "looking very seriously" at bringing state charges against the Venezuelan leader, days after Maduro was brought to the US and pleaded not guilty...

DeSantis Emerges as Leading AI Skeptic

On data centers, Florida governor is in agreement with Bernie Sanders

(Newser) - Ron DeSantis is spending his final year as Florida governor trying to slam the brakes on artificial intelligence while much of rest of his party steps on the gas. As President Trump and GOP leaders in Washington promote AI as an economic and strategic priority, DeSantis is positioning himself as...

US Executions Hit 15-Year High in 2025

40% of them were in Florida

(Newser) - Executions are on hold in much of the country, but the national total just hit a 15-year high—and Florida is the main reason why. A new report from the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center says 2025 saw a spike in executions driven largely by Florida, which carried out 19...

Trump Moves to Override State AI Regs With One Federal Order

Executive order set for this week would allow DOJ to sue states over AI regulations

(Newser) - President Trump has announced he'll sign an executive order this week to establish a single federal policy on artificial intelligence, effectively overriding state-level regulations. "You can't expect a company to get 50 approvals every time they want to do something," Trump wrote on social media , referencing...

DeSantis Declares Muslim Civil Rights Group a Terrorist Org

Florida move follows similar one by Texas last month

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the US a "foreign terrorist organization," following a similar step by Texas last month, the AP reports. The directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order...

Florida Isn't Holding Back on 2025 Executions

Ron DeSantis signs death warrant for Frank Walls, who will be state's 19th execution in 2025

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during a home invasion robbery and later confessing to three other killings is scheduled to be put to death in December under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's setting a record pace for executions....

In Florida, a 'Hostile Act' at Memorial for Pulse Victims
Orlando Once Again Loses
Its Rainbow Crosswalk
UPDATED
Aug 26, 2025 1:00 AM CDT

Orlando Once Again Loses Its Rainbow Crosswalk

State DOT once again paints crosswalk black and white

(Newser) - Orlando's once-rainbow crosswalk is now black and white again. The Florida Department of Transportation on Sunday painted over the rainbow colors again, NBC News reports. The rainbow crosswalk was originally created in 2017 as part of a tribute to the 49 people killed in the 2016 shooting at LGBTQ...

'Deport Depot' Merch Doesn't Sit Well With Home Depot

Pulled merchandise mimicked retailer's stenciled letter logo

(Newser) - The Florida GOP's attempt to cash in with "Deport Depot" merchandise quickly fizzled after the Home Depot objected to its branding being used without permission—underscoring the tensions brewing over Florida's new migrant detention plans. The Republican Party of Florida on Friday began promoting a new...

DeSantis Unveils Plans for 'Deportation Depot'

Florida's second immigration detention facility will be in a 'ready-made' facility, a prison

(Newser) - Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed "Deportation Depot" at a state prison in north Florida, as a federal judge decides the fate of the state's holding center for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades known...

DeSantis Taps a Potential Successor
DeSantis Taps a
Potential Successor
Aug 12, 2025 12:25 PM CDT

DeSantis Taps a Potential Successor

Florida governor appoints state Sen. Jay Collins as lieutenant governor, potentially setting up a proxy war

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis can't run for reelection in the 2026 race, but on Tuesday he gave a broad hint at who he might like to see take his place in the governor's mansion. The term-limited DeSantis appointed GOP state Sen. Jay Collins as the state's next...

Heckler Interrupts DeSantis' Hulk Hogan Tribute

Man shouted about Alligator Alcatraz, accused governor of 'bowing down' to pedophile

(Newser) - No chairs were thrown, but things got testy Thursday as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was paying tribute to Hulk Hogan. The man was removed from a press conference in Bradenton after he rose from his seat and shouted, "Alligator Alcatraz, is that your f------ legacy," reports Fox News...

'Alligator Alcatraz' Gets Ready for First Immigrants

Detainees being brought to controversial Florida detention center on buses

(Newser) - The first group of immigrants should now be in place at the new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," the state's attorney general said. "Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight," Florida Republican Attorney General James...

DeSantis on 'Alligator Alcatraz': 'Good Luck Getting to Civilization'

Fla. governor says President Trump is 'very excited' to visit the new migrant detention site on Tuesday

(Newser) - Looks like "Alligator Alcatraz" is ready to open, and President Trump will be there this week to check out the revamped facility in the Florida Everglades. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that Trump will be stopping by Tuesday at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a new immigration...

This Dog Inspired a New Law in Florida

Trooper was found abandoned and chained to a fence during Hurricane Milton

(Newser) - Legislation signed into law Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will impose tougher penalties on people who abandon pets during natural disasters, a measure inspired by the rescue of a dog left in floodwaters during Hurricane Milton. With the 2025 hurricane season starting next week, the governor also signed a...

Florida Is 2nd State to Ban Fluoride From Water

Statewide ban takes effect July 1

(Newser) - Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure Thursday prohibiting local governments from adding fluoride to their water systems, making it the second state in the country after Utah to implement a statewide ban on the mineral. DeSantis signed the bill at a public event in Dade City, Florida, over...

Controversy Clouds Political Prospects of Casey DeSantis

Fellow Republicans in Florida have been investigating hefty payment tied to her charity

(Newser) - In a different political universe, Ron and Casey DeSantis would be thriving right now. Instead, national voters soundly rejected the Florida governor as a presidential candidate, and the first lady's hopes of succeeding her husband as governor are in jeopardy over a $10 million controversy tied to her charity....

Florida's Idea to Replace Migrant Labor: Child Labor

GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, state Legislature pushing bill to loosen child labor laws, allow overnight shifts

(Newser) - Long before President Trump returned to the White House, Florida began cracking down on companies hiring undocumented immigrants. Now, a new dilemma: Who will take on the lower-paying jobs in the state that those immigrants held? The state Legislature has an idea: loosening labor laws so kids can slip into...

Florida Toys With Idea of Killing Property Tax
Florida Toys With Idea
of Killing Property Tax
in case you missed it
Mar 23, 2025 11:00 AM CDT

Florida Toys With Idea of Killing Property Tax

Gov. Ron DeSantis is on board

(Newser) - Florida pulled in more than $55 billion in property taxes for the 2024-25 fiscal year—and some in the state are considering the idea of dropping that figure to zero. The Wall Street Journal reports that the state's property-tax system is among the hottest topics among legislators who are...

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