Florida News Archive

More than $73 million is needed over the next two years to revamp Florida’s much- criticized unemployment system, which was overwhelmed in the initial weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, the head of the state’s unemployment agency said Monday.

Calling Florida’s higher-education system one of the state’s “primary targets of foreign influence,” Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Republican lawmakers Monday in releasing proposals that take aim at espionage and intellectual property theft by China and other nations.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will expand COVID-19 vaccinations to law-enforcement officers, firefighters and K-12 teachers who are age 50 or older.

DeSantis told reporters he would issue an executive order later Monday that will mark an additional expansion of vaccinations that have focused since late December on people age 65 or older.

After focusing almost exclusively since December on vaccinating seniors, Gov. Ron DeSantis has cleared the way for more people under age 65 to receive shots if they are “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19.

Though some of the details differ, the House and Senate next week will continue moving forward with proposals that would help shield health-care providers from lawsuits related to COVID-19.

The Florida House will largely stick with existing COVID-19 restrictions when lawmakers return to Tallahassee for the 2021 legislative session that begins Tuesday, according to protocols released Friday by Speaker Chris Sprowls’ office. Under the House pandemic procedures, lobbyists and other visitors must register online at least three hours before committee meetings, show identification and pick up passes to gain access to meeting rooms.

In a sign that Florida’s higher-education institutions are preparing for a return to normalcy, two of the state’s largest universities are announcing changes that bring people back to campus.

The College Board released a list of the 10 states with the highest percentages of 2020 public-high school graduates who scored a 3 or higher on an AP exam. Here is how Florida stacked up:

— Connecticut: 34.5 percent

— Florida: 34.2 percent

The Florida Senate has long been considered the saucer that cools the hot tea, a metaphor purportedly coined by George Washington to describe the U.S. Senate’s tempering influence on the more hot-headed — and numerous — House of Representatives.

A House Republican is trying to ban abortions that women seek because of tests showing that fetuses will have disabilities.