Tag: florida

DeSantis and Ladapo aim to make Florida first in US to end all vaccine mandates

Florida is set to push for an end to all state vaccine mandates, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced at a news conference Wednesday.

For decades, the state has required numerous vaccines for kids attending school, a list that today includes shots that protect against measles-mumps-rubella, polio, chickenpox and hepatitis B.

But Ladapo on Wednesday compared these mandates to “slavery,” and promised that they all will soon end.

“All of them. Every last one of them,” Ladapo said to raucous cheers from the crowd assembled at the Grace Christian School in Valrico. “Who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body?”

Dr. Nancy Silva, a Wesley Chapel pediatrician, said ending the vaccine mandates for schoolchildren will endanger their health and bring back diseases with life-threatening health complications that most parents of school-age children have never faced.

She questioned why the DeSantis administration would make vaccines an issue when school mandates have proven effective at eradicating and minimizing the spread of childhood diseases.

“I hope parents understand the great wonder of vaccines and how they have saved millions of lives over the decades.”

Immunizations have saved at least 154 million lives in the last 50 years, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of the lives saved were infants.

All 50 states and Washington, D.C., have laws requiring certain vaccines for students to attend school. Florida is the first state to publicly call for doing away with such requirements.

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Democrats Face Disaster as Another State Joins the Redistricting War

Democrats have long relied on gerrymandering to tilt the map in their favor. For years, they got away with it. But that winning streak is over. Republican-led states are finally striking back—methodically, aggressively, and with precision—reshaping congressional districts right under the left’s nose. While blue states scramble to hang on, Republicans are systematically gaining ground ahead of 2026.

The newest state to enter the redistricting wars is Florida, and Democrats have every reason to panic. With its latest moves, the Sunshine State is poised to shake up the congressional battlefield and give the GOP a decisive edge in the midterms.

Florida’s push comes on the heels of Texas’s, where Republicans wasted no time correcting the damage from the 2020 Census undercount. Despite Democrats’ stunts and loud public protests, Texas redrew its maps and neutralized the left’s advantage. That victory laid the blueprint, and now Florida is ready to double down—reworking districts mid-cycle and ensuring Republicans don’t leave a single seat on the table.

Meanwhile, blue state governors like Gavin Newsom in California and J.B. Pritzker in Illinois are in full scramble mode, feverishly drawing new maps in a desperate bid to blunt GOP momentum and cling to power. Accuracy and fairness in representation aren’t even part of the equation for them—it’s all about preserving their stranglehold on Congress. The obsession runs so deep that even Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is vowing to gerrymander her state—despite the fact that Republicans don’t hold a single congressional seat there to begin with.

That, of course, is the real problem for Democrats. When it comes to the redistricting wars, Democrats have already gerrymandered their states so much they are running out of levers to pull. Their grip is loosening, and they know it. Demographic changes and voting patterns are swinging hard against them, and with each passing year, the data tells a grimmer story for the left: Americans are leaving their high-tax, high-crime, heavily regulated states for Republican-led havens where opportunity actually means something. 

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Is your baby, doorbell or security cam spying for China? Florida’s top cop wants to know

Florida’s top law enforcement official has issued a subpoena to Lorex Corp., a top maker of baby monitors, security and doorbell cameras, demanding documents and information about its corporate structure, whether it has any ties to Chinese Communist firms and whether Americans’ data or privacy can be breached. Those documents could provide evidence of illegal activity.

Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office told Just the News he believes Lorex, though North American-based, has imported large swaths of equipment from a Chinese manufacturer banned from the United States over alleged human rights abuses and national security risks.

A spokesperson for Lorex did not immediately respond to a written request for comment sent via email to its corporate public relations account.

Probe into whether products are relabeled from black-listed maker

“Lorex Corporation is importing millions of devices from CCP-controlled Dahua, which has been banned in the United States for human rights abuses and national security risks,” the office said in a statement to Just the News. “AG Uthmeier must discover whether Lorex is selling re-labeled Dahua products which would introduce a range of cybersecurity vulnerabilities that would give the CCP a direct line into the homes and private lives of millions of Floridians.”

Dahua, a Chinese technology company, acquired the Canadian-based Lorex in 2018 but sold it to Taiwan-based Skywatch nearly three years ago after Dahua was blacklisted in the United States.

The Pentagon in 2022 listed Dahua as one of 13 companies doing business with the Chinese military and banned its products in the United States. Earlier, the Commerce Department in 2020 identified Dahua as one of several Chinese firms involved in human rights abuses with alleged slave labor involving Uighur minorities.

In 2023, the Australian government expressed alarm when it found about 1,000 security cameras in its various offices tied to Dahua and another Chinese-tied firm, ordering a sweeping review of all security equipment in its government facilities.

The Florida attorney general’s subpoena was issued Friday, and shortly afterwards, Uthmeier put out a statement on X advising Florida consumers about his actions and possible vulnerabilities in Lorex products they may own.

“What consumers do not know is that data might be shared with the Chinese military,” he said. “Imagine that. Footage of your baby in a crib going to the Chinese government. This is unacceptable. It is a national security issue, and it will not be tolerated.”

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Miami Beach’s Silent Crisis: How Greed, Corruption, And Indifference Are Destroying Lives Behind Closed Doors

In Miami Beach, we have a problem most residents never see until it is too late. What is happening to Robert Kraft, known to many as Raven, is not just one man’s story. It is a warning to every homeowner and resident in this city.

Raven has run eight miles every single day along Ocean Drive for nearly fifty years. His daily run has become part of the soul of Miami Beach. Now, after decades of calling this city home, he faces foreclosure. Not because he refused to pay. Not because of financial irresponsibility. But because bad actors inside a broken system have found ways to exploit local enforcement gaps, city oversight failures, and association loopholes for personal profit.

It started as a legitimate repair issue. Structural problems led to court intervention. A Special Master, David Swilley, was appointed to oversee the building at 326 Ocean Drive. That is where the real abuse began. Instead of protecting residents, Swilley and his associates took complete control of the building’s finances, levied inflated assessments, misapplied payments, and took out high-interest loans without owner approval. Many of those loans appear to be linked to entities associated directly with Swilley.

There has been no functioning board. Residents have no vote. Notices are delivered late or not at all. Accounting records are opaque. Personal information was improperly exposed. Violations of the Florida Condominium Act and consumer protection laws are piling up. While residents are being financially squeezed and forced out, those in control continue collecting legal fees, management fees, and pocketing the proceeds of a manufactured financial crisis.

This is not mismanagement. This is exploitation.

The most outrageous part is not just the conduct of those running this building. It is the silence and failure of the city that allowed this to happen. Miami Beach’s local officials have known for years how these games work. They know certain properties get selective code enforcement. They know who receives special treatment with permits and inspections. They know when court-appointed agents abuse their authority, hide behind court orders, and strip residents of their homes one lien at a time. They know, and they do nothing. Why? Because too many of them are controlled by the same consultants and insiders who thrive off this system.

The city has building officials, inspectors, and lawyers on staff who could have flagged this behavior years ago. But instead, they looked the other way while residents like Raven were left to fend for themselves.

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Armed drones designed to neutralize school shooters in seconds are being tested in several Florida districts

Three districts in Florida will be testing out a series of new drones armed with pepper spray pellets that are specifically designed to thwart school shootings.

Campus Guardian Angel, a Texas-based company that engineered the drone tech system, said that the exact districts will be selected by Florida’s Department of Education.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the largest district in the state, has already shown interest in participating and held test runs at a campus in July, CBS News reported.

The drones, kept in secure charging boxes on participating campuses, will be operated by FAA-certified pilots located in Texas.

But each drone can be activated by school officials on-site through a silent alarm or “other mechanisms,” according to Campus Guardian Angel.

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Trump Administration REVOKES Business License of Employer Who Hired Illegal Alien Responsible for Killing 3 in Florida Truck Crash

The Trump Administration has dropped the hammer on a reckless California trucking company that knowingly hired an illegal alien truck driver who went on to cause a deadly crash in Florida last week that claimed the lives of three innocent Americans.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that an illegal alien, who obtained his truck driving license (CDL) in the Democrat-run sanctuary state of California, killed three Americans after he made an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway this week.

The driver, identified as Harjinder Singh, was arrested and charged with three counts of vehicular homicide after he made an insane U-turn directly in front of a car to his left on Florida’s Turnpike.

The illegal alien showed zero emotion after he exited the 18-wheeler and examined what was left of the vehicle, a pile of mangled metal and three dead bodies.

The truck involved in the fatal Florida Turnpike crash belonged to White Hawk Carriers, a shady outfit based in Ceres, California, with a horrifying track record, according to the Miami Herald:

  • 25 truck safety violations in just 24 inspections.
  • Two drivers busted in 2024 for driving on suspended licenses.
  • And now, an illegal alien driver who couldn’t even speak English—behind the wheel of a massive semi-truck.

According to the Miami Herald, as of Tuesday morning, White Hawk’s U.S. DOT entry shows their insurance canceled and status downgraded to “NOT AUTHORIZED to operate as a MOTOR PROPERTY COMMON CARRIER.” That means their interstate trucking operations are effectively shut down by the Trump Administration.

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Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Revives Case Challenging Gun Ban for Florida Medical Marijuana Patients

In a decision issued Wednesday, a three-judge panel said the government had not met its burden of showing that disarming state-legal medical marijuana patients aligns with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The case was brought by several Florida medical marijuana patients, joined initially by former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who argued the restriction is unconstitutional given their lawful conduct under state law.

The court’s ruling nullifies a district court decision from November 2022 that threw out the challenge

The court noted that the individuals involved had not been convicted of crimes or shown to pose a danger that would warrant taking away their gun rights. Under federal law, marijuana use remains a misdemeanor offense, but Florida voters legalized medical marijuana in 2016. The panel ruled that this conflict was enough to allow the case to move forward.

U.S. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch, writing on behalf of the panel, noted that at most the plaintiffs were guilty of a federal misdemeanor for marijuana use. She emphasized that they had not been convicted of a crime and there was no showing at this stage that their drug use made them dangerous enough to justify stripping them of gun rights.

“Accordingly, the Federal Government has failed, at the motion to dismiss stage, to establish that disarming Appellants is consistent with this Nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulation,” she wrote.

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Report: Illegal Trucker Behind Fatal U-Turn Failed English Language Test

The semi-truck driver, who allegedly killed three Americans while making an illegal U-turn in Florida, failed an English language proficiency test and also failed to accurately identify highway traffic signs.

In a press release from the Department of Transportation (DOT), it was revealed that officials with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had launched an investigation into the deadly crash in Florida, which left three people dead.

During an interview with the driver, who has been identified as Harjinder Singh, investigators administered an English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment. Singh failed the assessment and only provided “correct responses to just 2 of 12 verbal questions,” and he only accurately identified “1 of 4 highway traffic signs,” according to the press release.

“If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures. Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles.”

The press release also revealed that on July 15, 2023, Washington State “issued” Singh a “regular full-term Commercial Driver’s License (CDL),” and that on July 23, 2024, the driver was issued a “limited-term/non-domiciled CDL” in California.

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There’s a lot more you need to know about illegals hijacking our highways…

The horrific and deadly crash on the Florida Turnpike that killed three innocent people should have been the final alarm bell. An illegal Indian driver pulled an insane, unauthorized U-turn with a 60-ton semi, turning a minivan into a coffin. This wasn’t an isolated tragedy; it was the latest example of a deadly trend that’s been plaguing our highways for years.

There was a time when American truckers were considered the safest, most capable drivers on the road. Families on vacation trusted semis so much that dads would tuck in behind them on the freeway, confident that the man up ahead knew exactly what he was doing. That trust is gone. Long gone. Instead of professionalism, Americans now face incompetence and recklessness from foreign drivers who treat massive 18-wheelers like mopeds or rickshaws in a free-for-all driving hellscape.

Just look at the driving in places like India: no rules, total chaos, and constant danger.

These foreigners don’t come to America and suddenly turn into safe, respectful drivers who follow the rules. Many can’t even understand the road signs.

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Game Day Just Got Creepy: Florida Stadium Swaps Tickets for Faces

The University of Florida has launched a facial recognition-based entry system for football games, making it the first college in the country to introduce this technology at a stadium.

Instead of showing a ticket or scanning a phone, participating fans will now be able to walk into games by having their face scanned at dedicated lanes.

The system, called Express Entry, was created by Wicket and reflects a larger pattern of biometric screening being integrated into major sporting events.

To sign up, fans must link their Ticketmaster accounts and submit a selfie.

Once registered, they can skip traditional lines and enter the stadium through special facial recognition lanes. The University claims the process is quick, easy, and designed to relieve congestion. “With Express Entry, fans can bypass the lines and enter games using their face instead of their phone or ticket. Enrollment is free and simple,” the University Athletic Association explained.

This move is part of a shift in how universities are beginning to experiment with surveillance-oriented technologies under the banner of convenience.

Though the program is optional and traditional ticketing methods remain available, the arrival of facial recognition at a public university venue introduces serious concerns around biometric data collection and surveillance practices in educational and public entertainment settings.

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