Lori Rozsa

Backlash grows against DeSantis decision to block AP African American studies class

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing mounting backlash regarding his administration’s decision to prohibit an Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies, with Black leaders rallying in the capital, a prominent civil rights…

A Black professor defies DeSantis law restricting lessons on race

National NEWBERRY, Fla. — The inscriptions on many of the tombstones at the Pleasant Plain Cemetery tucked in the north Florida woods are so worn by time and weather that they are unreadable. On a recent afternoon, he gathered students and their…

Federal judge finds DeSantis violated state constitution but dismisses suit

A federal judge ruled Friday that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the state’s constitution when he suspended an elected, liberal-minded state prosecutor but concluded that the law ultimately allows the decision to oust him to stand. U.S. District…

Florida’s DeSantis steps up pressure on Disney World

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signaled Friday he plans to ask state officials to exert control over special local government powers once held by Disney World — a fresh sign that last year’s fight over talking about LGBTQ issues in Florida’s schools…

DeSantis takes aim at federal government as he is sworn in to second term

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cast himself as the leader of a thriving state that is ready to serve as an antidote to what he deemed the “floundering federal establishment” in Washington as he was sworn in Tuesday for a second term in office. DeSantis,…

DeSantis forms panel to counter CDC, a move decried by health professionals

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he is forming a new state committee to counter policy recommendations from federal health agencies — a decision that medical professionals said will further politicize medicine…

Florida beaches were already running low on sand. Then Ian and Nicole hit.

WILBUR-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — In the days since Hurricane Nicole lashed this stretch of Florida coast with punishing winds and a powerful storm surge, contractor A.J. Rockwell has found himself on an urgent mission. He has to find sand — tons of it — and…

Black voters in Florida express fear, confusion as DeSantis election laws kick in

HOBE SOUND, Fla. — Geraldine Harriel usually helps her elderly parents vote by taking their mail-in ballots to the elections office for them. But new voting laws in Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis’s elections police force had her questioning that this…

Judge formally sentences Parkland school shooter to life in prison

A South Florida judge formally sentenced the gunman who killed 17 people — including 14 students — at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 to life in prison on Wednesday, after two days of victim statements from anguished families and…

Parkland families unleash anger at gunman, justice system after painful trial

Survivors and family members of those killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 angrily confronted the shooter in a South Florida courtroom Tuesday, decrying his defense team’s argument that he suffers from mental illness and denouncing…

University of Florida faculty has ‘no confidence’ in Sasse selection

Days before University of Florida trustees are set to interview Sen. Ben Sasse, the sole finalist for the presidency of the flagship school, debate over the selection has intensified across the campus. On Thursday, the university’s faculty senate…

Man arrested by DeSantis’s election police has his case dismissed

One of the 20 people arrested by Florida’s new elections police force this summer had his charges dismissed Friday, in the first case to be resolved since Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his aggressive voter-fraud initiative. Robert Lee Wood was arrested…

Three weeks after Ian, hard-hit Floridians are still searching for lost pets

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — As the water from Hurricane Ian’s storm surge rose, Joseph Salvaggio climbed into his attic and huddled with his two cats. They stayed there for 20 hours, Mittens and Zoey keeping their owner warm as he waited for someone to…

DeSantis changes voting rules for some counties hit by Ian, sparking criticism

Gov. Ron DeSantis is making it easier for voters to cast ballots in three southwestern Florida counties that were hit hard by Hurricane Ian and are bastions for GOP support, sparking criticism that he is “politicizing a natural disaster.” More than 1…

Ian bringing heavy rain into Mid-Atlantic as Florida, S.C. take stock

After moving onshore in South Carolina, Ian became what is known as an extratropical low-pressure system, meaning it is no longer being fueled by warm ocean waters but will carry a large amount of tropical moisture inland across the Mid-Atlantic over…

Thousands evacuate as Hurricane Ian barrels toward Florida

TAMPA — Floridians streamed out of low-lying coastal communities, stocked up on sandbags and supplies, and boarded over windows Tuesday as Hurricane Ian barreled toward the state with what Gov. Ron DeSantis called “historic storm surge and flood…

Scrutiny mounts over DeSantis’s use of state funds for migrant flights

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. — Fifty migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard amidst an escalating battle between GOP governors and the White House over immigration were transported to a military base on Cape Cod Friday, as scrutiny mounted over Florida Gov. Ron…

Florida let them vote. Then DeSantis’s election police arrested them.

BELLE GLADE, Fla. — When Leo Grant Jr. cast his ballot in the 2020 election, it was the first time the 53-year-old had ever voted — an act that made him feel like he was setting a good example for his three sons and fulfilling his role as a citizen.…

DeSantis flexes influence with ‘anti-woke’ school board victories

MIAMI — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saw big wins Tuesday night in nearly two dozen school board races where he endorsed conservative candidates backing his education agenda, underscoring his influence as he uses local races to build his voter base and…

Who is Maxwell Frost, the Gen Z Democratic nominee in Florida?

Maxwell Frost sounds a lot like others of the Gen Z generation — he’s 25, drives an Uber for extra cash and recently quit his job to pursue a more promising opportunity. His latest gig? Winning a crowded primary in Florida’s heavily Democratic 10th…