Dara Kam/News Service of Florida

A 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off of social-media platforms came under scrutiny Friday, as lawyers for the state told a federal judge the measure is addressing a “mental-health crisis” and attorneys for industry groups argued the restrictions violate First Amendment rights.The law, in part, seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on certain platforms — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 would be prohibited from having accounts.

President Donald Trump emerged as the biggest winner Thursday as the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a suite of measures aimed at strengthening enforcement of illegal immigration.Quickly signed into law by the governor, the wide-ranging plan toughens penalties for crimes committed by undocumented immigrants; creates a statewide immigration enforcement panel; imposes the death penalty for undocumented immigrants who commit first-degree murder or rape children; and makes it a state crime for undocumented immigrants to enter the state.

Upping the ante in an increasingly acrimonious feud with House and Senate Republican leaders over immigration issues, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vowed to channel “huge sums” of money to candidates he backs in next year’s GOP gubernatorial and legislative primary elections.The governor’s message drew condemnation from House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, as bitterness continued to fester about a bill passed by the Legislature this week amid a dispute over plans aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Former Florida Gov. Kenneth “Buddy” MacKay, 91, died peacefully during an afternoon nap at his home in Ocala surrounded by his wife and sons on New Year’s Eve, a family spokesman said Thursday.MacKay’s decades-long public-service career included stints as a state legislator, U.S. representative, lieutenant governor and — briefly — governor.

Former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo handed over the reins of the Senate to Wauchula Republican Ben Albritton after the November elections.But Passidomo, who is now chairwoman of the Rules Committee, has some unfinished business to resolve during her two remaining years in the Senate.

In a decision that could have far-reaching implications in the legal battle over treatments for transgender children, a fiercely divided federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to reconsider a ruling that backed Alabama’s ban on hormone therapy and puberty blockers for trans minors.The decision by the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals effectively kept in place a ruling by a three-judge panel that overturned a preliminary injunction a district judge had issued blocking the Alabama law.

More than three months after a computer system serving as a backbone of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice was hacked, many contractors providing services to at-risk and troubled youths remain unable to access the network.Efforts to bring the network back online were still ongoing as the state was hit with a second cyberattack that resulted in outages of the Florida Department of Health’s Vital Statistics System. The statewide system is used to process birth and death certificates, among other records.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vetoed a measure aimed at regulating vacation rentals, saying the proposal would create “bureaucratic red tape” for local officials.Oversight of vacation rentals for years has been a thorny issue for the Legislature, as advertising for properties on platforms such as Airbnb has ballooned.

House and Senate leaders plan to use “rainy day reserve” money to keep afloat about 200 jobs after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed more than $56 million from part of the state budget that pays for “legislative support services.”The vetoes wiped out funding for joint legislative offices used to pay for such things as the Office of Economic & Demographic Research, the Old Capitol Museum, the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Demographic Research, joint legislative committees, the Florida Channel, and lobbyist registration services.