Jim Saunders/News Service of Florida

Three days into his job, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday announced a class-action lawsuit that alleges Target Corp. did not properly disclose to investors the risks of a 2023 LGBTQ Pride campaign that drew a consumer backlash and caused a drop in the retailer’s stock price.Uthmeier and private attorneys filed the 163-page lawsuit in federal court in Fort Myers on behalf of the State Board of Administration, which manages Florida’s massive pension fund and other investments. The lawsuit is one of at least three similar cases against Target in Florida.

A Florida Senate committee Tuesday will consider a plan that would make wide-ranging changes in the state’s water management districts, with backers saying the proposals would boost transparency and help the districts focus on their “core” mission.The Senate on Friday released details of the plan (SPB 7002), which will be spearheaded by Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican who is a top lieutenant of Senate President Ben Albritton. While the bill would make changes to the five water management districts, it also deals heavily with Everglades restoration.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Florida Death Row inmate James Ford, setting the stage for his execution Thursday in the 1997 murders of a couple in Charlotte County.The Supreme Court declined to issue a stay of execution or to take up an appeal by Ford. As is common, the Supreme Court did not explain its reasons.

Less than a week before convicted murderer James Ford is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection, the Florida Supreme Court on Friday unanimously rejected an appeal aimed at blocking the execution.The Supreme Court issued a 22-page opinion upholding a Jan. 23 decision by Charlotte County Circuit Judge Lisa Porter, who turned down arguments by Ford’s attorneys. Ford is scheduled to be executed Thursday at Florida State Prison in the 1997 murders of Greg and Kimberly Malnory at a Charlotte County sod farm.

Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature will revamp immigration laws this week but issued a sharp rebuke Monday to Gov. Ron DeSantis that included overriding a budget veto from last year.The House and Senate started and quickly ended a special legislative session that DeSantis called — and then immediately opened their own special session that will focus on immigration issues. The move came after DeSantis angered House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, by calling a special session that they said was premature.

On the eve of a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican lawmakers Sunday filed a flurry of bills to crack down on undocumented immigrants and place additional restrictions on the ballot initiative process.The bills, in part, would end in-state tuition at colleges and universities for undocumented-immigrant students known as dreamers; place new requirements on police to help with immigration-enforcement efforts; and dramatically change the petition process for proposed constitutional amendments.

With inmate James Ford scheduled to be put to death Feb. 13, a Charlotte County circuit judge Thursday rejected an argument that the execution should be blocked because Ford had the mental and developmental age of a 14-year-old when he murdered a couple in 1997.The 22-page ruling by Circuit Judge Lisa Porter could be the first in a series of decisions as Ford’s attorneys try to prevent the execution. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a death warrant on Jan. 10.

After a district judge found “animus” toward transgender people, a federal appeals court Wednesday heard arguments in a battle about a Florida law and regulations that restrict treatments for people with gender dysphoria.A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took up Florida’s appeal of a decision last year by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle that the restrictions were unconstitutionally discriminatory.

Proposed rate increases that could have taken effect Jan. 1 for customers of the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. remain unresolved — with any hikes now unlikely to hit customers’ bills for months.The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has not ruled on the proposal, which the Citizens Board of Governors approved in June. The proposal, for example, could lead to an average 13.5 percent rate increase for the most-common type of Citizens policy, known as homeowners’ multi-peril coverage.