Category: The South

 

The South

Virginia (13), North Carolina (15), and Florida (29) add 57 electoral college votes to the total.

Rays Say in Letter That Stadium Deal Is Still in Effect

The Center Square
Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays ownership said in a letter that a $1.3 billion deal to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg is still in effect and the team is awaiting decisions by local officials on the bonds to help pay for the project.

The letter sent to the Pinellas County Commission on Friday said team Co-President “Brian Auld did not waver from our commitment to the new ballpark project” and blamed the commission for not honoring the spirit of the agreement reached in July to build a new stadium and multi-use development in the historic Gas Plant District.

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Pinellas County Officials Give Sunday Deadline for Rays, Stadium

The Center Square
Ray Player

The Pinellas County Commission asked the Tampa Bay Rays this week if they’re in or out when it comes to a stadium deal.

The letter from board Chairwoman Kathleen Peters gives the Major League Baseball team a Sunday deadline to decide whether the club wants to proceed with a $1.3 billion stadium deal for St. Petersburg reached in July.

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Conservative Florida Attorney Chris Crowley Continues Battling Suspension of His Law License over Political Speech

Rachel Alexander
Florida Attorney Chris Crowley

Florida attorney Chris Crowley filed a Cross-Answer/Reply Brief with the Florida Supreme Court earlier this month in his appeal challenging the suspension of his law license for 60 days.

A Referee for the Florida Bar disciplined him for engaging in political speech while he campaigned for the state attorney’s office in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit due to referring to his opponent as “corrupt” and “swampy” and for observing that she had “close family ties to the [Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)] terrorist organization.”

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Center for Countering Digital Hate: Ending ‘Disinformation’ While Taking Aim at Musk, Conservatives

Just the News

On Nov. 4, one day prior to the 2024 presidential election, a headline on the increasingly left-leaning news aggregating site The Drudge Report screamed: “Misleading claims have been viewed more than 2 billion times on X.”

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‘It Just Speaks To His Power’: Brian Stelter Frets About ‘Democratic Backsliding’ if Elon Musk Purchases MSNBC

Daily Caller News Foundation

CNN reporter Brian Stelter claimed Sunday that the United States could experience “democratic backsliding” if Tesla CEO Elon Musk were to acquire MSNBC after the Tesla CEO and Donald Trump Jr. joked about buying the network.

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Rays’ New Stadium Deal Paused, Tropicana Field Repair Initiative Fails

The Center Square
Tampa Bay Rays

After a wild week with three negative votes, the Tampa Bay Rays are a team without a permanent home and may have played their last innings in St. Petersburg.

The Tampa Bay Rays said a deal to build a $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg is dead after two of their partners decided to defer votes on bond issues to fund the taxpayer part of the deal, about $600 million.

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More Republican Women Now Own Firearms Than Democrat Men, Poll Finds

Daily Caller News Foundation
Gun Range

More Republican women on average now own firearms than Democratic men, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.

From 2019 to 2024, an estimated 33 percent of Republican women owned a firearm compared to only 29 percent of Democratic men, according to Gallup’s six-year groupings of ownership data. Compared to years 2013 to 2018, Republican women saw a 14-point spike in ownership.

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Trump Will Nominate Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General

Christina Botteri

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as the next Attorney General of the United States. The decision, hailed as a significant move toward restoring integrity to the Department of Justice, was made in the wake of former Representative and fellow Floridian Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from consideration.

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Manhattan D.A. Bragg’s Team Opposes Hush Money Case Dismissal, Is Open to Delaying Sentencing

Just the News

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team on Tuesday confirmed it would oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to dismiss the charges against him in his hush money case, but indicated that his sentencing might face delay until after his presidency.

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Obama-Biden-Clinton Nuclear Giveaway to Russia a Decade Ago Comes Back to Bite America

Just the News

The U.S. nuclear energy sector’s dependence on Russian uranium created during a failed Obama-era reset with Moscow is coming back to bite Americans as the Kremlin moves to block future exports of the vital fuel.

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DeSantis Predicts Rubio’s Replacement Will Be Announced by Early January

Just the News
Marco Rubio and Ron DeSantis

Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday gave an update on the search for Sen. Marco Rubio’s replacement in the Senate, now that the latter has been nominated for Secretary of State.

President-elect Donald Trump tapped Rubio for the post last week as one of his first cabinet nominations for the former president’s second term. Rubio, who is known for being a hawk on China and Iraq, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate next year, after he resigns his post in January.

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Florida Boasts Record Visitor Numbers Despite Inflation, Hurricanes

The Center Square
Florida Beach

Florida officials say 34.6 million visitors spent time in the Sunshine State in the third quarter of this year, eclipsing the previous third quarter record by 1.7% and giving the state three consecutive quarters of record growth.

That comes despite Hurricanes Debby and Helene making landfall in the quarter. Milton, in the just started fourth quarter, made it three hurricanes in 66 days.

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Donald Trump Details Plan to Create the ‘American Academy’ to Provide Free Higher Education to All Citizens

Kaitlin Housler

President-elect Donald Trump plans to assist the nation’s population without a college degree by creating the online “American Academy” which would make higher education available to all U.S. citizens for free.

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President-Elect Trump Brings Deportation Chiefs into White House, Away from Entrenched Agencies

Just the News

President-elect Donald Trump’s nods for immigration and border-related posts appear to suggest he plans to keep the major-decision making on those issues within the White House rather than in offices of executive branch agencies filled with career government employees. Trump has vowed to pursue the mass deportation of illegal aliens from the country, beginning on his first day. He has cited President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback” as precedent for such an undertaking.

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Republicans Retain Supermajorities in Florida Legislature

The Center Square

Florida Republicans maintained their supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature after Tuesday’s elections.

House Republicans gained one seat for an 85-36 advantage, while the composition of the Senate remains the same with 28 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

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Trump’s 2026 Celebration Plans Include Great American State Fair, Patriot Games, and More

Kaitlin Housler

A video of former and president-elect Donald Trump has resurfaced since Tuesday’s election of him pledging to honor America’s 250th birthday by working with all 50 governors to hold a “Great American State Fair” in 2026 if he were elected.

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Floridians Reject Recreational Marijuana, Abortion Rights

The Center Square
Weed

Florida voters gave a victory to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday by rejecting two ballot initiatives on recreational marijuana and abortion rights that the second-term Republican opposed.

Amendment 3, a proposed recreational cannabis program in the state, failed with 55.75% approving out of 10.35 million ballots cast and 44.25% opposed according to preliminary results from the Florida secretary of state’s office.

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Virginia A.G. Miyares Concerned over Potential Foreign Money Seeping into U.S. Election via ActBlue

Just the News
Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares

Virginia GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares said this week that he is worried about the potential influence of foreign money impacting U.S. elections through the Democratic online fund-raising platform ActBlue that he is investigating.

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Florida Early Voting Wraps Up with Almost 40 Percent Bump from 2016 Numbers

The Center Square
Voters

According to Florida data, 5.35 million voters cast ballots early after early voting ended on Saturday, up 38.14% from 2016. 

Data from the Florida secretary of state’s office shows 2.83 million votes have been cast via mail, up 3.74% from the 2016 election when former President Donald Trump won his first term in office.

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Poll Shows Trump, Scott Leading in Florida

The Center Square
Rick Scott and Donald Trump

A poll released by Florida Atlantic University shows former President Donald Trump with a big lead in the presidential race and also has good news for incumbent U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

The poll of 913 registered voters by the Florida Atlantic University Political Communication and Public Opinion Research Lab and Mainstreet Research USA shows Trump with 53%, with 44% going for Vice President Kamala Harris and only 2% undecided.

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From ‘Deplorables’ to ‘Nazis’ to ‘Garbage,’ Democrats Embrace Insults, Intolerance in the Trump Era

Just the News

Since former President Donald Trump’s first presidential run in 2016, his opponents have thrown an endless series of derogatory terms toward him and supporters. But while some terms attracted scandal eight years ago and even energized the Trump base, the Democrats’ penchant for smearing MAGA supporters and other dissident groups has become a central part of their messaging as Trump appears poised to make a return to the White House.

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Dozens of Illegal Aliens Arrested in Florida for Looting in Aftermath of Hurricanes

American Greatness
Hurricane Clean Up

Local law enforcement in a Florida county announced the arrest of over 100 people who committed looting and similar crimes in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, with at least 41 of these suspects being illegal aliens.

As reported by Fox News, police officers on patrol for looters in Pinellas County have made the arrests over the course of the last three weeks. A total of 45 suspects were arrested on 68 different charges, ranging from robbery and burglary to grand theft, vandalism, and trespassing.

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DeSantis Says Recreational Marijuana Ballot Initiative Is ‘Corporate Greed’

The Center Square
Weed Smoker

Gov. Ron DeSantis cautioned Florida voters against passage of Amendment 3 that would make recreational marijuana legal in the Sunshine State.

DeSantis made his remarks at a news conference in Fort Myers on Thursday as he continues a campaign against two well-funded ballot initiatives.

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‘I’ve Heard It All Before:’ CNN Analyst Scott Jennings Lists Republicans Who Democrats Compared to Hitler in Recent Election Cycles

Daily Caller News Foundation

Republican strategist Scott Jennings said Wednesday night that he’s “heard” comparisons of prominent Republicans to German dictator Adolf Hitler going back to the George W. Bush administration during a panel on CNN.

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Florida Sues Biden Admin for Allegedly Not Helping State Remove Noncitizens from Voter Rolls

Just the News
Voting Booths

Florida is suing the Biden administration, alleging that it has not done its duty by verifying immigration records so the Sunshine State can get illegal migrants off the voter rolls.

In the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital, Florida alleges that the Department of Homeland Security isn’t following the law by not verifying immigration records. 

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Report Says Cap on Florida Highway Landscaping Spending Needed

The Center Square
Florida Highway

After taxpayers spent more than $200 million on highway landscaping in the previous fiscal year, a report says Florida lawmakers might need to consider a cap on that spending.

Florida Taxwatch analyzed the Florida Department of Transportation’s spending on highway landscaping, which can provide benefits such as erosion reduction, safety enhancements and support of local ecosystems.

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Neil W. McCabe Reporting Live from Florida: ‘There’s a Resilience Here’ to Recover from Hurricanes Milton and Helene

Kaitlin Housler

National political reporter Neil W. McCabe reported live from the beach in Destin, Florida on Thursday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show where he discussed the destruction Hurricane Milton left in the state just hours after the storm officially retreated out into the Atlantic Ocean.

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DeSantis Says Hurricane Milton Mobilization Is Largest in State’s History

The Center Square
Ron DeSantis

Mobilization for hurricane is larger for Milton than any previous in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said from Lake City on Wednesday.

State officials say 6,000 Florida National Guard soldiers and 3,000 from other states await storm rescue and recovery efforts, along with 34 search and rescue aircraft and 500 tactical vehicles. Hurricane Milton is forecast for landfall Wednesday night into Thursday.

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Tampa Bay Area Braces from Strike from Major Hurricane Milton

The Center Square
Hurricane Milton

Florida’s Tampa Bay area could face record storm surge flooding from Hurricane Milton as officials try to clean up debris from Hurricane Helene before Milton makes landfall late Wednesday night.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said crews will continue to work 24 hours a day to pick up debris in affected areas from Helene until Wednesday when it is no longer safe to continue. A record 15-foot storm surge is forecast in Tampa Bay.

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Poll: Trump Would Win the Florida Hispanic Vote with Strong Support from Cuban Americans

ADN America
Cubans for Trump

A survey published this Tuesday shows how Cuban-American voters in Florida would become a key support for Republican candidate Donald Trump a few weeks before the general elections in the United States.

The revelation came to light after a survey conducted by Telemundo Station Group and Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. in the Sunshine State, revealing the decisions Latino voters would make in this year’s presidential election.

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Florida Prepaid College Tuition Program Providing Refunds to Parents

The Center Square
College Students

Florida’s prepaid college tuition plan is generating enough revenue to provide refunds to parents in part because of strong earnings on the plan’s investments and low tuition statewide.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week part of those savings is how the state has held down tuition and other costs at the state’s colleges and universities. The plan factors in future tuition costs and when those costs don’t reach predictions, families can receive a refund.

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Florida Senators Introduce Legislation to Increase the Reward for Nicolás Maduro to $100 Million

ADN America
Nicolas Maduro

U.S. Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced a bill calling for increasing the reward for information leading to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The Ensuring Timely Payment Opportunities and Maximizing Rewards for Stopping Illegal Regime Officials (STOP MADURO) Act seeks to increase the reward amount from $15 million to a maximum of $100 million.

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‘My Signature Has Been Forged’: DeSantis Probes Florida Pro-Abortion Ballot Measure Petitions amid Fraud Allegations

Florida Capital Star Staff
Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking law enforcement to “prioritize” the investigation into what may be “fraudulent” signatures on petitions to get a pro-abortion measure on the Nov. 5 ballot, according to a letter shared with The Daily Signal.

The Palm Beach Supervisor of Elections’ office received complaints from voters about their signatures being forged on constitutional initiative petitions circulated by Floridians Protecting Freedom, the pro-abortion coalition behind an amendment that would legalize abortion on demand up to birth.

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Conservative Florida Attorney Appeals License Suspension, Denounces Political Censorship over Calling His Opponent ‘Corrupt’ and ‘Swampy’

Rachel Alexander

Chris Crowley, a conservative attorney in Florida, filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court last month contesting a 60-day suspension of his law license for exercising free speech during his political campaign for the state attorney’s office in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit.

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Former Top Clinton Adviser Calls on ABC to Launch Internal Probe into Whether Debate Was Rigged

Admin

Mark Penn, a former top adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, called Thursday for ABC to launch a formal internal investigation into its news division’s planning and execution of this week’s presidential debate to determine if there was some effort at “rigging the outcome of this debate.”

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UCLA Report: Spanish Language Ads Key to Connecting with Florida Hispanic and Latino Voters

ADN America
Florida Senate Race

Republican incumbent Sen. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell aired Spanish-language ads this week while amplifying their attempts to reach the Latino vote.

Scott, who speaks fluent Spanish, has so far released several Spanish language television and radio ads targeting Latino voters, and a pro-Scott super PAC backing Scott is also airing a Spanish language ad in Spanish in Orlando this week.

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Law Passed After Surfside Collapse Affecting Florida’s Real Estate Market

The Center Square
Miami Condo Collapse

A new Florida condominium law is affecting the Sunshine State’s real estate market. The new measure requires costly inspections, significantly increasing homeowners’ costs.

The law — Senate Bill 4D — was passed during a special session in 2022 and requires condominium associations to retain adequate funds for building repairs. Buildings three stories or higher are subject to inspection requirements.

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Doctors Warn Voters About ‘Deceptively Worded’ Language in Florida’s Amendment 4

Daily Caller News Foundation

A large group of Florida physicians recently united to oppose the state’s Amendment 4 initiative, warning voters about its potential impacts as it heads to the ballot in November. Florida’s Amendment 4, also known as the Right to Abortion Initiative, is sponsored by the Sarasota-based group “Floridians Protecting Freedom.” The amendment seeks to end the state’s six-week abortion ban by enshrining abortion rights in Florida’s constitution. While some physicians support the amendment, others have begun to caution voters against it.

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Book Publishers Sue Florida over Law Banning Sexually Explicit Books from Schools

American Greatness
Kids reading at the library

A coalition of book publishers and individual authors have filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida over its law banning sexually explicit books from school libraries in the state.

As the Daily Caller reports, the lawsuit was filed in the Orlando Federal Court on Thursday by a group of over a dozen publishers and authors, claiming that the bill signed into law in May of 2023 by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is a violation of both the First and 14th Amendments. The law, the plaintiffs claim, “interferes” with their ability to produce and distribute “constitutionally protected” books, insisting that the law is too vague in its description of “sexual conduct.”

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