Free Republic

Florida voters could narrowly pass an amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution in November. A survey by the Florida Chamber of Commerce found that 61 percent of likely Florida voters say they support the abortion amendment, above the 60 percent support needed to pass the measure. However, the results are within the survey’s ±4 percent margin of error. The poll found that 29 percent of respondents oppose the amendment, and 10 percent are undecided.

WELLINGTON, Fla. — A suspect accused of fatally shooting a Wellington couple on Saturday confessed to killing them over a dispute related to a basketball hoop, deputies said. ... As they were conversing, "at no point during this encounter" was Taylor Jones recorded being aggressive or threatening, detectives said. However, investigators said the video showed Scott "was clearly upset and appeared to be yelling at Taylor Jones" while both appeared to be looking and pointing toward the basketball hoop that rested between both homes. A short time later the affidavit said Scott reached into his right side and retrieved a...

The family of a 23-year-old US Airman who was fatally shot by a Florida sheriff's deputy retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Roger Fortson was shot and killed inside his apartment on Friday when an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy responding to a disturbance call "reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun." "We demand accountability for those responsible for his death," Crump said in an email to Newsweek. "And we stand in solidarity with Roger's family and friends as they navigate this unimaginable loss."

While pundits, politicians and the press have long expressed outrage over attacks on judges by former President Donald Trump, many are now attacking any judge who delays any trial of Trump before the election. Democrats have accused Judge Aileen Cannon of being politically compromised, if not conspiratorial, in her delay of the Florida trial over the mishandling of classified documents. Yet, there is ample reason for the delay that many of us anticipated in this type of case when it was filed.For months, many of us have said that we doubt that this type of trial could be held on...

MILTON, Fla. - A Florida father was arrested over the weekend after pulling an AR-15 rifle on an Uber driver who dropped his daughter off at his home, according to deputies. Sean Hollonbeck, 54, of Milton, was taken to jail on charges of false imprisonment of a person and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. On May 4, shortly before 11 p.m., an Uber driver arrived at Hollonbeck's home to drop off the suspect's daughter. The young female was still in the vehicle when she saw her father run up to the driver with an AR-15 in hand and force...

CV NEWS FEED // Florida legislators are working to expand current Safe Haven policy in hopes of lowering the number of abortions in the state. All states have a Safe Haven policy that allows for a mother to anonymously surrender her newborn up for adoption at participating hospitals and EMS and fire stations. Barring any signs of abuse or neglect, there will be no questions asked and no criminal charges. The specifics of the policies vary by state. In Florida, the newborn can be surrendered up to seven days after birth. The new legislation would expand the current Safe Haven...

May 8 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Florida were called to a Starbucks cafe to eject an unruly customer from the drive-through: an alligator. North Port Fire Rescue said on social media that it was "just another day on the job" when crews were called to a local Starbucks. The post said firefighters "had quite the surprise" when they discovered the cause of the commotion was a coffee-craving crocodilian at the drive-through. "After coordinating with our friends at North Port Police Department, we safely relocated our scaly friend to a nearby pond," Fire Rescue officials wrote. "Who knew our mornings could...

Atheist zealots have managed to shut down a Christian club at an elementary school in rural Florida. The school dismantled the group after an atheist organization sent a letter whining about the existence of the religious club. Hamilton County Elementary School shut down its chapter of the North Central Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes, according to the Christian Post. The move came after the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an organization known for attacking Christians in various areas of American society, wrote a letter accusing the school of violating the U.S. Constitution.FFRF, which touts itself as the largest atheist legal group...

Human remains were spotted in the mouth of a 13-foot, 8.5-inch alligator on Friday, in a canal just north of the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. The gator was extracted from the water and “humanely killed,” the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release, adding that a dive team had also “recovered the remains of a deceased adult from the waterway.” VIDEO AT LINK.............. So far, no details regarding the identity of the victim have been shared, as the investigation is still ongoing. It’s also unclear whether the alligator was directly responsible for the person’s death. One local...

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A man who is accused of trying to speed away from Putnam County deputies before he crashed into a utility pole was arrested early Monday morning on drug and gun charges. According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the 27-year-old Palatka man was first seen in an SUV on Gillis Street driving slowly with his lights off. When deputies tried to pull him over, he sped off, deputies said. The man reached speeds of 100 mph, deputies said, before he crashed into the concrete pole in front of ABC Liquor near Highway 17 and State Road...

The Biden administration last month announced a revamping of Title IX rules ostensibly intended to protect transgender college students. The move was met with condemnation and lawsuits challenging the new rules.Now, White House officials are in the hot seat, being forced to explain and defend this decision. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recently gave testimony before the Senate. Sen. Burgess Owens (R-UT) grilled Cardona, asking him whether he would allow his daughter to be forced to deal with biological men in women’s space. Naturally, the secretary had trouble answering.President Joe Biden’s administration released a finalized rule in April that extends Title...

May 7 (UPI) -- An unusual transaction was caught on camera at a Florida credit union when an alligator wandered into the drive-through lanes. Addition Financial in Lake Mary shared a photo to social media showing the gator parked by the teller window at the credit union. "Just a normal day in Florida," the post said. "Can we even blame this little guy for wanting in on our 5 star service?" A video of the encounter features commentary from a teller. "Man, welcome to Florida where you go to work and casually see alligators just chillin' at your job," the...

BREAKING: I was informed today by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons that my request to interview @RealPNavarro would be denied. And her reason is that Peter Navarro is “too notorious” to be interviewed by a member of Congress! John Gotti was interviewed in prison. The QAnon Shaman was interviewed in prison. Director Peters HERSELF brought NBC News THROUGH PRISONS to showcase the work of corrections that’s being done! This only vindicates the claim made by Peter Navarro that he is being held as a political prisoner.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill into law on May 2 banning “indoctrination” programs for teachers.The measure, HB 1291, prohibits programs, courses, and curricula in teacher training from “distorting” historical events or promoting political ideologies regarding race, sex, and gender.Accredited postsecondary institutions can seek Florida Department of Education approval to create institutes to educate teachers on improving classroom instruction and meeting requirements for certification or recertification.They can also seek approval for instruction on educating existing and potential substitute teachers on how to perform classroom duties and to teach those with baccalaureate degrees how to become certified.However, teacher...

Sane-minded people who felt a sense of despair after seeing how the pro-Hamas college protests were playing out early on at places like Columbia University and UCLA were heartened in late April when the University of Florida issued a no-nonsense response to the "outrage" that ensued from the arrest of some campus agitators.As RedState reported at the time, the statement released by U of F school spokesman Steve Orlando confirmed that they were not a daycare center and that if their rules were not followed, then consequences would follow."This is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare,...

A group of influential Republican senators has sent a letter to International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan, warning him not to issue international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, and threatening him with “severe sanctions” if he does so. In a terse, one-page letter obtained exclusively by Zeteo, and signed by 12 GOP senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Florida’s Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz of Texas, Khan is informed that any attempt by the ICC to hold Netanyahu and his colleagues to account for their actions in Gaza will be interpreted...

Florida passed a law requiring hospitals to publicize the costs of unpaid care for migrants, and the reports thus far show that the loss to the state’s hospitals is a massive $566 million just in 2024 — and taxpayers are picking up much of that loss.

State leadership and delegation chairs from several Libertarian Party chapters, including those in Florida, California, Colorado, Tennessee, Minnesota, Vermont, Nebraska, and the District of Columbia, have extended an invitation to independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging him to seek the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination. The letter, published on Friday by Libertarians for Kennedy and signed by various party leaders, including an alternative region representative on the Libertarian National Committee, urges Kennedy to seek the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, with the understanding that the undersigned would consider voting for him in the first round if he accepts. Notably, the...

Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), now the president of the University of Florida, slammed pro-Hamas demonstrators this week who have created chaos on college campuses across the U.S. and the weak leadership at the universities that has allowed the behavior to happen. Sasse’s remarks come after the school released a statement early in the week revealing that numerous arrests were made on campus because the school would not tolerate disorderly conduct that was in violation of the school’s policies. “Higher education has for years faced a slow-burning crisis of public trust,” he wrote in an op-ed at The Wall...

NYC judge retiring to Florida days after setting free deranged brute who broke mom-of-three’s jaw The turn-em-loose judge who released an alleged predator who randomly sucker-punches people left the bench Friday — just days after the bizarre ruling — and is moving to Florida. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew Sciarrino retired with more than a year-and-a-half left on his mayoral appointment, two days after setting free the deranged suspect accused of socking Dulche Pichardo of Crown Heights in the face and breaking the 57-year-old mother-of-three’s jaw.