Judge Approves Voting-Rights Groups' Senate Map
A state Senate redistricting plan favored by voting-rights organizations was approved Wednesday by a Leon County judge in a move that could shake the Republican Party's grip on power in the Capitol.
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A state Senate redistricting plan favored by voting-rights organizations was approved Wednesday by a Leon County judge in a move that could shake the Republican Party's grip on power in the Capitol.
The Senate redistricting chief on Wednesday defended a proposed map of the chamber's 40 districts, telling a Leon County judge that it was happenstance that the plan submitted to the court by the Republican-dominated Senate was one of the best for the GOP.
The decisions prompting state Senate leaders to choose a redistricting plan they recommended to a Leon County judge took center stage Monday, the first day of a trial to determine whether that map should go to the Florida Supreme Court.
A Leon County judge and lawyers for the Legislature and voting-rights organizations on Tuesday began muddling through the legal process for deciding on a new set of districts for the 40-member state Senate.
A coalition of voting-rights organizations has withdrawn two state Senate redistricting proposals it had submitted to a Leon County judge, virtually ensuring that at least one district will cross Tampa Bay when the legal fight ends.
After a second consecutive redistricting session fell apart Thursday and the Legislature went home yet again without passing a map, lawmakers' message was more or less: We told you so.
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.
A veteran from Florida got an alarming notification in regards to his Veterans Affairs benefits.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
After successfully arguing that a congressional map drawn by the Legislature impermissibly favored Republicans, voting-rights groups and voters have offered four sets of proposed districts that were discussed with Democratic-leaning consultants, according to court papers filed Tuesday.
Police say a former University of South Florida football player has died in a stabbing outside a Ybor City nightclub.
A key state senator floated a last-ditch effort Thursday to strike a compromise with the House on new congressional districts, while voting-rights groups that challenged the current congressional map called for the Florida Supreme Court to take over the process.
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A Florida man has been arrested after he appeared in a video stealing a Confederate flag from the outside of a Tampa Bay-area home, authorities said.
Authorities said a Tampa Bay area man is facing an animal cruelty charge after he allegedly beat his family's pet dachshund to death with a flashlight.
Members of Congress along with some Florida lawmakers blasted the first draft of a new set of Florida congressional districts.
Under the proposal, each board of trustees in the Florida College System would be required to "ensure that all students admitted to the Florida College System institution are citizens of the United States or lawfully present in the United States."
Kim Muratori says it took a lengthy legal battle and an order from a judge for Mercedes-Benz of Fort Lauderdale to come get it.
The Archdiocese insists the decision is not related to a recent exchange between Pope Leo and President Trump over a now-deleted AI-generated photo.
Faced with an $80 million budget shortfall this year and the loss of 50,000 students over 10 years, the Broward schools superintendent is trimming non-teaching staff.
Singer and songwriter d4vd has been arrested on suspicion of murder for the death of a 14-year-old whose dismembered body was found last year in a Tesla belonging to the singer.
Under the proposal, each board of trustees in the Florida College System would be required to "ensure that all students admitted to the Florida College System institution are citizens of the United States or lawfully present in the United States."
Kim Muratori says it took a lengthy legal battle and an order from a judge for Mercedes-Benz of Fort Lauderdale to come get it.
The Archdiocese insists the decision is not related to a recent exchange between Pope Leo and President Trump over a now-deleted AI-generated photo.
Faced with an $80 million budget shortfall this year and the loss of 50,000 students over 10 years, the Broward schools superintendent is trimming non-teaching staff.
Singer and songwriter d4vd has been arrested on suspicion of murder for the death of a 14-year-old whose dismembered body was found last year in a Tesla belonging to the singer.
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.
Todd Lyons, the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is planning to leave the federal government later this spring.
The technology would enhance Iran's ability to detect and track incoming threats, like low-flying drones and cruise missiles.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says that while Cuba does not want military aggression from the United States, his country is prepared to fight back.
But underground construction work on a presidential bunker underneath the ballroom can continue, the judge said.
Few Republicans have been willing to distance themselves from the president as the war's end remains uncertain.
Uthmeier was asked several times during a press conference in Miami this week if he had formally requested the judge overseeing the grand jury to keep the findings secret.
Former state Sen. Lauren Book launched her 11th annual statewide walk, encouraging survivors to share their stories amid renewed attention on the Epstein case.
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski is pressing county commissioners to approve a long-delayed mental health center, warning lives are at stake as the building sits empty.
Emily Gregory describes the days following her upset victory in Tuesday's special election as "a little overwhelming, surreal, but exciting."
The Miami Center for Mental Health and Recovery, located at 2200 NW 7th Avenue, would be a first-of-its-kind facility that could make a difference in the lives of countless people.
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An unlicensed cosmetologist from Florida has been found guilty in a California court for providing an injection that killed a model who was known as a Kim Kardashian lookalike, prosecutors said.
Food containing norovirus may smell and taste normal but still cause serious illness if consumed, FDA warns.
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. wants the popular coffee chains to prove their surgery drinks are safe for teens and suggested the Trump administration could place limits on your cup of coffee.
Tests of dozens of baby formulas by Consumer Reports found that nearly half contained potentially dangerous chemicals.
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.
Activists are calling for a nationwide boycott of Target stores following the company's decision to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Afrika Bambaataa, a rapper and producer, was best known for breakthrough tracks like 1982's "Planet Rock" and for founding the Universal Zulu Nation art collective.
The moon music tradition started more than 50 years ago, NASA said as it shared the Artemis II crew's playlist this week.
The rapper formerly known as Kanye West being denied entry into the U.K. has raised questions over the star's upcoming performance in Italy.
Rapper Offset is recovering after a shooting at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where Lil Tjay was among two people detained and later charged.
A major music festival featuring the rapper formerly known as Kanye West was canceled after the U.K. government blocked Ye from entering the country.