News Service of Florida

Days after a mass shooting at nearby Florida State University, the state Senate appears poised to scuttle a controversial proposal that would allow people under age 21 to buy rifles and other long guns.Senate Rules Chairwoman Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said Monday her committee won’t take up a House measure (HB 759) that would lower the minimum age to 18.

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.