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A last-ditch effort to keep the courts from drawing state Senate districts collapsed Thursday, as senators voted down a plan proposed by the House and a special session called to draw the lines crashed to an end.
Florida is looking to replace the statue of a Confederate general house in Washington, D.C.
House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve a redistricting plan for the state Senate, setting up the delicate endgame for a three-week special session called to finally bring Florida's political boundaries into line with a voter-approved ban on gerrymandering.
Based on statistics released by the state on Tuesday, almost 11,000 rape kits have gone untested in Florida.
Pointing to a need for change at failing public schools, a House panel has approved a proposal that would create a pilot program to allow school principals more autonomy in running schools.
The House redistricting committee voted along party lines Monday to approve its version of new districts for the state Senate, potentially setting up a battle with the upper chamber as a special session on the map entered its final week.
The political realities of redistricting burst into the open Tuesday, as the Senate approved a proposal increasing the Hispanic share of three of the chamber's South Florida seats over objections from Democrats who argued the move was an attempt to prevent incumbents from running against each other.
One day before a high-stakes committee meeting, there were few signs Thursday that state senators were any closer to agreement on how the chamber's 40 districts should be drawn or numbered to comply with a voter-approved constitutional amendment banning political gerrymandering.
The chairman of the state Senate committee charged with redrawing districts for the 40-member chamber released his proposed draft of the map late Wednesday, as Republican discontent with a plan for whether and when members would have to run for re-election continued to brew.
Trying to curb the spread of diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, a House panel Tuesday backed a proposal that would create a pilot needle-exchange program in Miami-Dade County.
If only it was as simple as "X" marks the spot. Because if it was, the Florida Legislature wouldn't have to meet for the third special session of the year to draw up new maps for 40 state Senate districts.
House and Senate lawyers tore into the map a Leon County judge recommended the state use in the 2016 congressional elections, arguing that the Florida Supreme Court should instead go with one of three plans submitted by lawmakers.
Owners with concealed-weapons permits could legally bring their sidearms onto college campuses or into legislative meetings --- or wear them openly in public --- under proposals now pending before state lawmakers.
The Legislature on Wednesday released six draft maps of Senate districts for a special session that begins next week, opening up the next phase of a long-running battle over Florida's congressional and legislative lines.
Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said Wednesday they hope to pass a series of bills early in the 2016 legislative session that would expand educational and economic options for Floridians with disabilities.
Two key lawmakers have proposed allowing terminally ill patients a cannabis cure to help grapple with pain.
With the Department of Health unable to say when licenses will be issued in the state's new medical-marijuana industry, a House Republican on Tuesday blasted delays in carrying out a 2014 law billed as helping children with severe epilepsy.
The Florida House's Criminal Justice Subcommittee has approved a bill that would allow licensed gun owners to openly carry their weapons.
The Miami-Dade race to replace term-limited Rep. Erik Fresen continues to attract candidates.
As lawmakers continue preparing for the 2016 legislative session, House panels next week will take up a bill that would allow people to openly carry firearms and will get an update about a medical-marijuana law passed last year.
Describing the proposal as a "common-sense approach," a House Republican has filed a bill that would reduce a controversial sales tax on commercial leases.
Being in the state's "part-time" Legislature might tax members' time, but for most it hasn't caused financial heartaches.
Legislative aides who drew a map of congressional districts backed by the state House defended the plan in court Thursday, even as they conceded that other alternatives might also be good maps or have positive qualities.
A House Republican has proposed increasing regulations on abortion clinics, requiring them to be licensed similar to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.
Leon County District Judge Terry Lewis will try and sort out the political mess left due to squabbling over the state's 27 congressional districts at a trial this week.
"Survivor" 48 and 50 contestant Joe Hunter believes his sister Joanna, whose death was ruled a suicide, was murdered. He and their mother are working to be Joanna's voice and advocate for others who have experienced domestic violence.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino joked that if someone does pay $2 million for a ticket to the World Cup final, "I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke."
The city set up several sandbag distribution sites and will have them throughout the season.
Venezuela's government says it has deported a close ally of Nicolás Maduro to face judicial proceedings in the U.S. less than three years he was pardoned by President Joe Biden.
Colombia's presidential elections are scheduled for May 31, marking the end of the term for Gustavo Petro, the country's first leftist president.
"Survivor" 48 and 50 contestant Joe Hunter believes his sister Joanna, whose death was ruled a suicide, was murdered. He and their mother are working to be Joanna's voice and advocate for others who have experienced domestic violence.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino joked that if someone does pay $2 million for a ticket to the World Cup final, "I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke."
The city set up several sandbag distribution sites and will have them throughout the season.
Venezuela's government says it has deported a close ally of Nicolás Maduro to face judicial proceedings in the U.S. less than three years he was pardoned by President Joe Biden.
Andrew Lee Jansen, 28, was arrested after deputies said he interfered during a medical call involving his father.
In courtroom testimony, Shandelle Maycock recounted the harrowing night her daughter was abandoned in the Everglades, describing the horrors they endured.
A former prison guard trainee has been sentenced to death for the 2019 execution-style killings of five women inside a Florida bank.
Florida coach Billy Napier is getting a fourth season to try to get the Gators back to their winning ways.
A Florida man has filed a federal lawsuit against Jacksonville sheriff's officers who severely beat him last year after he ran from a traffic stop.
The Marion County Sheriff's deputy told authorities that he accidentally shot and killed his girlfriend while cleaning his gun.
Russia's Putin will travel to Beijing next week to meet China's Xi. The announcement came one day after President Trump returned from his own summit with the Chinese leader.
President Trump announced Friday evening that U.S. and Nigerian military forces had killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, a leader in the Islamic State group.
Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg, leader of the Food and Drug Administration division responsible for regulating prescription and over-the-counter drugs, is leaving her post, a senior FDA official confirmed.
President Trump's trip to China could bolster economic relations, but failed to deliver a breakthrough deal, some trade and energy experts said.
In an interview with "Face the Nation," Gates said another mass exodus from Cuba is the "biggest risk."
CBS News Miami has confirmed from multiple sources that the Miami Dade State Attorney's office is investigating A3.
State Senator Rosalind Osgood is urging Wasserman Schultz not to run in Florida's 22nd Congressional district.
In an interview on Facing South Florida, Wasserman Schultz said the Governor's efforts to redraw the maps will almost certainly violate the Fair Districts constitutional amendment voters in Florida passed in 2010.
Several commissioners have raised questions about how the center would be funded in future years.
The center – which was promised to voters back in 2004 – would take mentally ill individuals out of the jail and move them into a place where they can receive comprehensive treatment and support.
Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg, leader of the Food and Drug Administration division responsible for regulating prescription and over-the-counter drugs, is leaving her post, a senior FDA official confirmed.
A New York native is among 16 American passengers who are quarantining in Nebraska after being on the cruise ship that is at the center of the deadly hantavirus outbreak.
The head of the World Health Organization says "our work is not over" to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the illness.
An American on the repatriation flight began showing symptoms of hantavirus and another "tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus," the Department of Health and Human Services says.
More than 100 people from a cruise ship dealing with an outbreak of the rare and deadly hantavirus are set to be disembarked.
AARP is sounding the alarm because it is so easy to fall for these schemes, but there are simple things everyone can do to protect themselves.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Florida insurance policyholders could be seeing some form of relief in their wallets thanks to market reforms made statewide, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
The company said Tuesday that 85% of its retail products and "nearly all" of its school offerings are already made without "certified colors."
Less than two days after Delta Air Lines offered $30,000 to each passenger on board the flight that crashed and flipped in Toronto on Monday afternoon, the company is facing its first two lawsuits in the incident — and they likely won't be the last.
"Survivor" 48 and 50 contestant Joe Hunter believes his sister Joanna, whose death was ruled a suicide, was murdered. He and their mother are working to be Joanna's voice and advocate for others who have experienced domestic violence.
The Library of Congress revealed this year's list of 25 recordings to be preserved for future generations on the National Recording Registry.
"The Devil Wears Prada 2" edges out "Mortal Kombat II" at the North American box office this weekend.
A trial in the lawsuit between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni was set to begin later in May.
The performance followed similar shows by Madonna in 2024 and Lady Gaga last year on one of the world's most iconic waterfronts.