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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – A state lawmaker is considering changes to Florida law in the wake of recent politically motivated attacks across the country. A new bill introduced in the Capitol seeks to expand Florida’s hate crimes laws and change how hate crimes are defined and punished. DeSantis: Open to issuing nearly $1 billion in credits to Florida policyholders The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Debra Tendrich (D-Lake Worth), said it’s a joint goal that hopes to unify Republicans and Democrats at a time when political violence is in the spotlight.”We are witnessing political violence spiraling out of control,” Tendrich said.…

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – An Illinois man serving a 15-year sentence at a federal prison outside Orlando was shot to death inside a bar earlier this month, NBC News reported. The family of 33-year-old Dwayne “DJ” Totleben said they were shocked to receive a phone call from the prison on Oct. 10 telling them he had died, but did not provide any other details. DeSantis joins Democrats in pushing for legislative term limits nationwide Totleben’s friend Donna Ford said she spoke with Totleben that morning, according to NBC News. She told NBC that he was in a good mood and…

SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) – There is pressure from both sides to ease the financial burden on Floridians. However, disagreements remain over the approach to achieving this. Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a visit to Sarasota that the reforms signed into law in 2023 will allow home and auto insurance companies to avoid rate hikes. DeSantis joins Democrats in pushing for legislative term limits nationwide “People sign a bill into law and the next day they think, ‘What happened?’ Well, it takes time,” DeSantis said. DeSantis said Wednesday that these reforms have lowered premiums by an average of 6.5% this year…

Florida Attorney General James Usmeyer has issued a criminal subpoena to Roblox, the widely used online gaming platform, as part of an investigation into whether the company’s platform allows sexual predators to target children. “Platforms like Roblox have become breeding grounds for predators to access children,” Usmayer said in a statement. “We will stop at nothing to fight to protect Florida’s children and hold businesses accountable that put them in harm’s way.” The purpose of the subpoena is to determine whether Roblox’s practices, or lack of adequate safeguards, contributed to child exploitation. Investigators are looking into reports that criminals used…

MIAMI, Fla. (WFLA) — An Uber driver is facing charges more than a year after investigators say he offered a ride to a Miami tourist and then sexually assaulted the tourist, who passed out in his car. Uber driver Rafael Martinez, 42, was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail on Tuesday, Oct. 21, on charges of sexual assault of an incapacitated victim, according to jail records. Driver charged with attempted murder after shooting into car in downtown Tampa: TPD Rafael Martinez (Credit: Miami-Dade Corrections) The incident was first reported to police on January 26, 2024, according to an arrest affidavit.…

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis is working with former Democratic lawmakers to push for term limits in Congress. One person arrested in apparent road rage shooting in downtown Tampa: Police On Tuesday, the governor announced that he will co-chair, with former Maryland Rep. David Tron, US Term Limits, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gathering the support needed to convene a constitutional convention to propose term limits. To do so, we need support from 34 states. Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Tron published a joint op-ed in the New York Times framing their push for term limits against the backdrop…

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida father was arrested after his child was found running without clothes along an Interstate 4 ramp, according to the Altamonte Springs Police Department. According to an arrest report, Jeremy Rouse, 35, and a female passenger called police on Oct. 16 when they noticed the child was missing from their vehicle while delivering an Uber Eats order. Shots fired during apparent street assault in downtown Tampa: Police Around the same time, police responded to a report of a naked child running down the Interstate 4 on-ramp. When police arrived, bystanders pulled the child from…

Researchers at the University of Florida (UF) and MD Anderson Cancer Center report a convincing correlation between vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and improved survival in patients receiving immunotherapy for certain cancers. Main findings A retrospective analysis of patient records revealed that patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy lived significantly longer than those who were not vaccinated. In one cohort of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, median survival for vaccinated patients was approximately 37.3 months, compared with approximately 20.6 months for unvaccinated patients. Among patients…

Sanford’s beloved annual event will take a one-year “hiatus” and is scheduled to return in 2027. Sanford Porchfest, a free outdoor music festival that raises money for arts scholarships, will not be held for its ninth year in 2026. Last year’s festival drew 35,000 attendees to the streets of Sanford’s historic residential neighborhood to watch 74 bands perform on 18 porches. To date, the festival has raised $200,000 for performing arts summer camp tuition and arts scholarships for high school seniors and college students. The team behind the festival shared the news on social media on Tuesday afternoon. “This decision…

Will Florida lawmakers prioritize the future of property taxes in the next legislative session? The short answer is yes. Because the current debate does not satisfy most Floridians who pay property taxes on their homes and businesses. In June, Florida House leadership announced that a series of events would be held across the state over the summer to gather input from voters and organizations on the pros and cons of completely eliminating or reducing local property taxes. But that didn’t happen. In fact, the first public hearing of the Special Committee on Property Taxes was not held until late September…