News Service of Florida

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.”

The Biden administration this week urged a U.S. district judge to toss out a Florida lawsuit challenging a new federal rule that requires more gun sellers to be licensed and run background checks on buyers, disputing state arguments about lost tax revenue from gun shows.

A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a federal rule dealing with Title IX.

Saying it opposes “any form of academic censorship,” the United Faculty of Florida on Monday objected to a directive issued this month by university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues about reviewing textbooks and other materials for “antisemitic material” or “anti-Israeli” bias.

The Florida Trident, a publication of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, called a statement, made by the DeSantis Administration Friday, "a masterpiece of spin and understatement" that credited “overwhelming interest” for temporarily pausing a scheme to put golf courses, hotels and pickleball courts on nine of Florida’s pristine state parks.

The Florida Department of Transportation has been able to get permits from the federal government, including for projects in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Moving Florida Forward” initiative, as a major legal battle continues over permitting for projects that affect wetlands, a department official said Thursday. Siding with environmental groups, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in February vacated a 2020 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that shifted permitting authority from federal officials to the state.

As conservation groups object to the possibility of adding lodging, pickleball and golf at state parks, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection late Wednesday released information targeting what it said was “confusion” about the plan.“Our efforts to enhance public access, recreation and accommodations are for everyone,” the department said as part of a series of online posts. “The public’s input is welcomed and always valued.”