Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged each other’s records on immigration, crime, COVID-19 lockdowns, the economy and social issues in a rowdy Fox News matchup billed as "The Great Red versus Blue State Debate."

Fox News Channel is billing Thursday night's event as “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate.”

Florida teachers are leaving the state and their profession. They blame unrealistic workloads, restrictive laws and stagnant pay.

Christian Ziegler, Florida’s GOP chairman and husband of Sarasota County School Board member and Moms of Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, is under criminal investigation after a woman filed a complaint with the Sarasota Police Department alleging the longtime Republican official had raped her, according to a heavily redacted police report obtained by the Florida Trident.

Disney on Tuesday released a study showing its economic impact in Florida at $40.3 billion as it battles Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees over their takeover of the district that governs the entertainment company’s massive theme park resort in central Florida.

National Watermelon Day was celebrated with, what else, Florida watermelons Thursday, at Florida Gulf Coast University, courtesy the Florida Watermelon Association and the Lutgert College of Business Center for Agribusiness.

The Florida Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear arguments Sept. 8 in a case that could play a major role in the future of abortion rights in the state.The court issued an order scheduling a hearing in a challenge to a 2022 law that prevented abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The outcome of the case also will affect a law passed this year that would bar abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — and could determine whether a privacy clause in the Florida Constitution will protect abortion rights.

Twenty-five competitors chowed down on the Florida Keys’ signature dessert July 4 in Key West -- without using their hands -- but no one did it faster than Joshua Mogle, a 38-year-old tire manufacturing manager from Altoona, Iowa.

Despite higher costs for air travel and hotels, AAA projects holiday travel will be 3 percent higher than a record total set last year in Florida and 8 percent higher than over the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The auto club estimates more than 2.81 million Floridians will travel at least 50 miles from Friday through July 4.

Production numbers for Florida’s orange crop continue to decline as the citrus industry’s storm-battered season nears an end.The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday issued a forecast that said Florida growers this season are on pace to fill 15.65 million boxes of oranges, which would be the lowest total since the 1934-1935 season. The new forecast also was down from an April projection of 16.1 million boxes.