News Service of Florida

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.

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 lawmakers have started filing what are expected to be hundreds of proposals seeking money for local projects and programs — but legislative leaders are cautioning not to expect as much spending as in the past few years.As of Tuesday morning, House members had filed 40 funding proposals, while one had been filed in the Senate, according to legislative websites. Lawmakers will consider the proposals as they negotiate a budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year during the legislative session that will start March 4.

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.

he U.S. House Committee on Ethics released a report Monday alleging that former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz “regularly” paid women for sex, used illegal drugs and violated state laws.The committee released the 37-page report more than a month after Gaetz, a Republican, resigned from Congress. The report followed years of allegations and investigations into Gaetz’s conduct, including accusations that he engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl.

Hurricane Helene could cause $3 billion to $6 billion in private insurance losses and as much as $1 billion in losses in federal flood-insurance and crop-insurance programs, according to an analysis Wednesday by the global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re.The analysis came as Helene is expected Thursday night to slam into North Florida as a major hurricane, after whipping up heavy storm surge in coastal communities as it races through the Gulf of Mexico.

In a case closely watched by Florida businesses and environmental groups, the Biden administration Monday argued that a dispute about permitting authority for projects that affect wetlands should go back to a federal district judge.Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies contended in a 66-page appeals-court brief that U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss made errors this year when he vacated a 2020 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that shifted permitting authority from federal officials to Florida.

Attorneys for a transgender man and the parents of transgender children have asked a federal appeals court to reconsider a decision that at least temporarily allowed Florida to move forward with restrictions on treatments for gender dysphoria.The attorneys Tuesday filed a 38-page motion that argued a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred last week when it granted Florida’s request for a stay of a ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle that blocked the restrictions.

Trying to quell a bipartisan uproar, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that “half-baked” plans to bring golf courses, resort-style lodges and pickleball courts to state parks will be revamped.DeSantis said the Department of Environmental Protection will gather more public input before it could move forward with what is dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative.”