Tag: Florida News

Amid continued staffing shortages, the state Department of Corrections said Friday it plans to temporarily close three North Florida prisons.

New unemployment claims increased last week in Florida but remain similar to pre-pandemic levels.

About one-third of eligible people enrolled in Florida Medicaid managed-care plans had gotten COVID-19 vaccinations as of early August, a participation rate that one former Medicaid director called low.

Disputing that the law is discriminatory, the state is asking a federal judge to toss out a challenge to a ban on transgender females participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams.

Pointing to what it described as the “irrationality” of the ban, the National Rifle Association has urged a federal appeals court to reject a 2018 Florida law that prevents people under age 21 from buying guns.

Florida continues to see pre-pandemic levels of unemployment claims, with an estimated 4,092 first-time applications for benefits submitted last week.

The U.S. Department of Education is “deeply concerned” about Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order seeking to ban school mask mandates and is ready to help districts directly, the federal agency said in a letter to the governor Friday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says he anticipates “pretty good” July unemployment numbers, as a federal report Thursday showed that first-time jobless claims last week in Florida were at a level not seen since before the coronavirus pandemic.

A Leon County circuit judge has scheduled a hearing Friday in a lawsuit filed by parents challenging an executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis that seeks to prevent school districts from requiring students to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A federal judge Sunday sided with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in a constitutional challenge to Florida’s ban on so-called “vaccine passports,” clearing the way for the company to require passengers to show documentation that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.