Search results for

A much-feared backup of U.S passport applications has smashed into a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide travel rebounds toward record pre-pandemic levels — with too few humans to handle the load. The result, say aspiring travelers in the U.S. and around the world, is a maddening pre-travel purgatory defined, at best, by costly uncertainty.

State health officials report that as of Wednesday, more than 9.7 million people in Florida have been vaccinated against COVID-19, including more than two million people who have received a first dose and more than 7.7 million people who have either completed a two-dose series or have received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More than 20,000 young teens in Florida have received a vaccine dose since eligibility for the Pfizer vaccine expanded to include people as young as 12 nearly a week ago.Estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reports more than 51,100 people in Florida have died from the coronavirus, which is far more than the Florida Department of Health’s official report of nearly 37,000 deaths.Students in Sarasota County schools will no longer have to quarantine following an exposure to COVID-19 if they have been fully vaccinated.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow in a dispute about a 2011 state law that threatens stiff penalties if city and county officials pass gun-related regulations. The so-called ‘preemption law’ is being challenged by more than 30 local governments and dozens of local officials, as well as Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried. We talk with Fried about the lawsuit and issues around gun violence. Fried is also a Democratic candidate for Governor.

At a contentious House committee hearing, Republicans aired long-held grievances over what they say is Silicon Valley's bias against conservatives.

Three hurricanes in two years took a toll on Florida Gulf Coast University's Vester Field Station. But, that's all behind the research and classroom facility now, it reopened Monday, February 16, and is ready to resume operations.

The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program is the longest-running study of a wild dolphin population anywhere in the world. Since 1970 more than 52,400 dolphin group sightings have yielded more than 158,000 identifications of more than 5,600 individually distinctive dolphins in and around Sarasota Bay.

Following the devastation of Hurricane Ian, we know that many have lost so much, including their place of employment. With that in mind, there are many businesses who are currently hiring and need employees in varying fields and positions.

When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 it guaranteed coverage for people going through addiction treatment for the first time. This was a huge benefit for many people, but it also created conditions that led to some treatment providers taking advantage of people in recovery — and part of that corrupt system is what’s referred to as The Florida Shuffle. Put simply, the Florida Shuffle is when proprietors of what are called ‘sober homes’ effectively "broker patients" in order to keep them in a cycle of addiction and recovery. Well-run sober homes are meant to be a place where people who have been through supervised detox and inpatient treatment and then outpatient care can use as a bridge between treatment and returning to their lives.

State health officials reported 5,294 new COVID-19 cases and 87 deaths on Wednesday. So far, more than 5.8 million people in Florida have received a vaccine including more than 2.5 million people who have received a first dose and more than 3.3 million who have either completed the two-shot series or received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.Vaccine eligibility in Florida will expand next Monday, April 5, to include anyone 18 and older. Sixteen and 17-year-olds will be eligible, Monday, for the Pfizer vaccine with parental consent.Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’ll take emergency action to prevent government or businesses from requiring the vaccine or a vaccine passport system. Meanwhile, the Biden administration says it will not issue a federal mandate requiring proof of inoculation. The White House will be letting private companies handle the logistics for vaccine passports.Farmworkers in Homestead spoke with Miami-Dade officials this week as they push for vaccine access. Time is short before changes in the growing season prompt migrant farmworkers in Florida travel elsewhere.Attorneys general from 13 states, including Florida, have filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over a provision in the federal stimulus that bars state governments from using the relief funds to offset tax cuts.Gov. DeSantis announced Wednesday that principals and teachers at Florida's K-12 public schools will receive $1,000 bonuses similar to the $1,000 bonuses he announced two weeks ago for first responders.

Millions of Americans came out to voice their opinions as part of the nationwide No Kings Day.