RICK SCOTT

A Message From The PublisherBy Bobby R. Henry, Sr.We ring the bell for freedom, democracy, and majority rule. Rubio and Scott refuse to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. DeSantis, Scott, and Rubio White American dictatorship, not majority rule. Scott, Rubio, and DeSantis must be confronted everywhere and held accountable to all the people. Governor DeSantis, Senators Rubio are running for re-election on Tuesday November 8.

Rubio and Scott refuse to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. DeSantis, Scott, and Rubio want a White American dictatorship, not majority rule. Scott, Rubio, and DeSantis must be confronted everywhere and held accountable to all the people. We call on Floridians of all races and creeds to organize and challenge DeSantis, Marco Rubio, and Rick Scott. Governor DeSantis, Senators Rubio are running for re-election on Tuesday November 8.

President Biden endorsed changes to the filibuster, so that Democrats would be able to pass voting rights legislation.

Because of redistricting, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 seats in the U.S. Senate are back up for grabs.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other leading Republicans are intensifying a personal late-stage push to persuade Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to run for the Senate.

President Joe Biden’s pick to run the nation’s highway safety agency is pledging to attack a crisis of fatal car crashes by implementing safety rules to deter impaired driving.

Scott tweeted about his hang-up by the Biden administration, blasting the White House for their “shameful cowardice” in not connecting the U.S. senator with the president on the human rights issue.

Flush with federal cash from stimulus programs and a robust economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his budget recommendations Thursday, a $99.7 billion plan that includes a $1 billion gas tax holiday, salary increases for teachers and law enforcement, and more money for K-12 schools, environmental projects and cancer research.

Senator Rick Scott, in Miami to mark Versailles Restaurant’s 50th anniversary, served up scathing criticism of the bill Tuesday.

With Republicans in contention to win back the House and Senate, many corporations and top lobbyists have resumed giving.

The senator danced around questions about Trump's ongoing efforts to undermine democracy.

Critical race theory has become a lightning rod for Republicans and an issue in the Virginia governor's race.

Highlights of this day in history: The Stamp Act takes effect; The U.S. explodes first hydrogen bomb; Sistine Chapel paintings are first shown to the public; Algerian nationalists begin rebellion against French rule; NFL's Walter Payton dies. (Nov. 1)

Fox News SundayFox News anchor Chris Wallace repeatedly pressed Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) over his supposed concerns about the national debt and deficit, asking the Florida lawmaker if he would support repealing the 2017 Trump tax cuts to help balance the budget.With Republicans uniformly opposed to the Biden administration’s Build Back Better social spending agenda, Wallace welcomed Scott onto Fox News Sunday to react to the growing possibility that Democrats may finally pass a pared-down version

Former President Donald Trump struggled during his first year in office to get his nominees confirmed in a timely fashion in the Senate.

A 2018 candidate for governor of Nevada says his enthusiastic pursuit of big contributions from a Rudy Giuliani associate he met at a Trump hotel ended with a $10,000 check he had to return.

Letter To the editorBy Jon HochschartnerSenators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio should demonstrate their compassion by supporting federal funding for cultured-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultured meat is grown from animal cells, without slaughter. It has the potential to greatly reduce the suffering and death we inflict on our fellow creatures. The private sector continues to make progress in this field, with American company Eat Just announcing plans to build a cultured-meat factory in Qatar. But government-backed research would help address ongoing issues, such as reaching price parity with slaughtered meat and developing whole-cut products, like cultivated steak and filets.

The president’s decision could cost Democrats in 2022 and 2024. He doesn’t care.

A Florida judge has ruled the state cannot enforce its ban on mask mandates in public schools to guard against the coronavirus while an appeals court sorts out whether the ban is ultimately legal.

South Florida’s Republicans in Washington aren’t getting behind Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fight against local mask mandates in schools.

Florida’s two U.S. senators voted against a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday, rejecting a carefully negotiated agreement crafted during marathon meetings on Capitol Hill between Democrats and Republicans.

A group of Cuban-American protesters participated in a rally and a march to ask President Joe Biden to do more to help Cuba’s opposition to get rid of communism on the island on Monday in Washington, D.C.

Six months into the Biden administration, Senate Democrats are expressing a cautious optimism that the party can keep control of the chamber in the 2022 midterm elections, enjoying large fundraising hauls in marquee races as they plot to exploit Republican retirements in key battlegrounds and a divisive series of unsettled GOP primaries. Swing-state Democratic incumbents, like Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Mark Kelly of Arizona, restocked their war chests with multimillion-dollar sums ($7

The Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee on Thursday announced plans to intervene in the Justice Department's lawsuit against Georgia over its voting restrictions. Driving the news: RNC chair Ronna McDaniel and NRSC chair Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) seek to fight the lawsuit because they say "the security of the ballot is more important than Democrat power grabs," per McDaniel.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Catch u

U.S. State Department officials are actively expediting visas for family members of victims and survivors of the Surfside condo collapse.

Eight people were pulled out of the rubble, and one victim passed away at the hospital, officials said on Sunday. Another 150 people remain missing.

After days of pleading from families, officials are arranging for loved ones of the missing and dead from the Champlain Tower condo collapse to visit the wreckage as early as Sunday afternoon to grieve and pray.

Defunding the police was never going to happen, but police reform is still alive.

The former president’s imprimatur is “the most important factor” to Republican candidates, strategists say, even as Trump advisers counsel for more sparing use.

Florida is one of 26 states, most of which are led by Republican governors, that opted to stop participating in the federal unemployment program months ahead of its Sept. 6 expiration date. For Floridians who manage to get through the Department of Economic Opportunity’s CONNECT website, that means the most they’ll be able to collect is $275 per week in state benefits, which equates to about $6.87 per hour and is among the lowest payouts in the country.

Congressional bargainers say they’ve agreed to a bipartisan framework for overhauling policing procedures.

Scott McIntyreAs their marquee bill to overhaul U.S. elections met the buzzsaw that is the U.S. Senate, Democrats were beginning to grapple with one possible silver lining of this expected failure: turning it into a political weapon.On Tuesday, all 50 Senate Democrats voted to begin debate on the For The People Act, perhaps better known by its bill number, S.1. But all 50 Senate Republicans voted to block it. And with 60 votes needed to move to the bill under current Senate rules, the bill Democ

Former President Donald Trump's private club was paid over $175,000 in May by the RNC to host its donor retreat.

Florida Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio say the cruise industry should be able to resume normal operations immediately — and argue that any continued government intervention needlessly hurts passengers, industry employees and contractors in Florida as COVID-19 case numbers continue to decline.

Sen. Rick Scott met privately with business owners on Friday in Miami-Dade County’s city of Doral.

By Jon HawkIn order to prevent deforestation, Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott should back government funding for cultured-meat research. For readers who aren’t familiar with the term, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughter. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, especially when you include livestock-feed operations. Meanwhile, cultured meat requires a tiny fraction of the land to create a nutritionally identical product. While the private sector has made tremendous progress developing the field of cellular agriculture, there is so much more work to be done.

Cheers erupted among lawmakers as new Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett won a crucial vote of confidence

Enough with the Obama excuse, Florida Legislature.

The way Republicans have pushed the myth marks a dangerous turn from generalized allegations of fraud to refusing to accept the legitimacy of elections, experts say A Trump supporter holds a ‘Stop the Steal’ sign in Denver, Colorado, on 6 January. Photograph: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images Sign up for the Guardian’s Fight to Vote newsletter Just a few days after the polls closed in Florida’s 2018 general election, Rick Scott, then the state’s governor, held a press conference outside the governor’s

"This recognition from both the House and Senate means so much to the LGBTQ+ community," Pulse Orlando wrote of the decision on Facebook.

This week, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced the bill, H.R. 49, where it was unanimously passed by the U.S. Senate, to establish the ‘National Pulse Memorial’.

For four years, former President Donald Trump ignored a campaign promise to reduce the federal debt, and the COVID-19 pandemic spurred enormous amounts of government spending under Trump and President Joe Biden.

Nevada Democrat Jacky Rosen is bent on being bipartisan in a Washington that is anything but.

Venezuelan and Haitian leaders stood together at a press conference to call for permanent protections for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders in light of a Supreme Court decision, Monday, which excluded some TPS holders from permanent residency.

The head of the Senate Republican political arm says he expects former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt to challenge Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada next year.

The head of the Senate Republican political arm says he expects former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt to challenge Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada next year. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senate Committee, told The Associated Press that he has been in touch with Laxalt, whom he considers “a great candidate.” “I think Adam will run,” Scott said in a recent interview.

Republicans are fighting to seize control of Congress.

Republicans are fighting to seize control of Congress. Look no further for evidence of the GOP's muddled governing agenda than battleground North Carolina, where party leaders packed into a convention hall Saturday night to cheer former President Donald Trump. Without such a strategy heading into 2022, Republicans on the ballot risk allowing themselves to be wholly defined by Trump, who lost his last election when he drew 7 million fewer votes nationally than Democrat Joe Biden and who has seen his popularity slide further, even among some Republicans, since leaving office in January.

With Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, the unfortunate reality is that some gun related legislation is likely to pass. It is crucial that Republicans in the Senate pressure Democrats to focus on repairing loopholes in current gun laws and not on depriving Americans of their constitutional right to bear arms. One potential loophole that needs repair, and is quite popular among the majority of Republicans, myself included, revolves around background checks for gun sales between strangers. Over 75 percent of Republican voters, and 52 percent of NRA members, support implementing background checks to address these types of gun sales. I am hopeful that they and other Republicans will instead direct the conversation towards fixing our broken gun laws, specifically those surrounding stranger to stranger sales.

More and more Senate Republicans are coming out against a bipartisan congressional commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Florida’s two senators are among them.

We love manatees in Florida.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee chaired by Florida Sen. Rick Scott above is among the groups seeking to intervene in lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the controversial new elections law that places additional restrictions on voting by mail.

President Joe Biden's plan to share an additional 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses overseas brings the U.S. total exports to 80 million. But experts and some policymakers say it's not enough. Driving the news: The world has reached a situation of "vaccine apartheid", World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, saying "the big problem is a lack of sharing."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe big picture: The low U.S. export numbers were at first defended as a strategy to ensure Americans are vaccinated first. But now the administration is being confronted by calls for a stronger involvement of vaccine diplomacy as domestic demand diminishes.80 million doses is a "drop in the bucket," and the U.S. should pledge to manufacture and export 4-to-5-billion doses by the end of the year, Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN. G7 countries and the European Union can afford to donate more than 150 million vaccines to countries in need without compromising their own goals, UNICEF said on Monday.By the numbers: The U.S. has received more than four dozen requests for vaccine donations from countries across the world. China and Russia have exported larger shares of its vaccine production than the U.S., an analysis from Airfinity shows.China has shipped 252 million doses overseas, or 42% of its total production. The European Union has exported 111 million doses — more than a third of its total. Still, the announcement of 60 million doses was already a major boost to the severely strained global supply, Axios' Dave Lawler notes, considering the COVAX initiative has distributed about 45 million doses globally.Some Republicans — and Democrats — have become increasingly vocal in the U.S.’s vaccine diplomacy efforts, highlighting concerns lower-income countries are looking to U.S. competitors Russia and China for doses. "The U.S. should set a goal of vaccinating more than one billion people around the world by Thanksgiving—and without dumping intellectual property," Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) writes in a Monday op-ed to WSJ. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) tweeted: "I’m glad that @POTUS has answered my calls to distribute extra U.S. COVID vaccines to our allies across the globe. As the Administration crafts its excess vaccine distribution plan, I again urge them to consider the people of Venezuela and the Bahamas."What to watch: The administration has yet to announce how the doses will be shared or which countries will receive them.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg are joined by Sen. Rick Scott, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, activist John Sowinski and Dr. Rosalind Osgood, Chair of the Broward County School Board.

Rick Scott wants to end extended unemployment, and President Joe Biden's jobs and infrastructure plan.

Before Matt Gaetz rose to national prominence as an ardent backer of Donald Trump, the now-Florida congressman carved out an unusual reputation as a Republican state lawmaker who wanted to liberalize marijuana laws.

The Senate has confirmed Bill Nelson, a former Florida senator who once flew on the space shuttle, to be the next NASA administrator.

The No. 2 House Republican says party leaders would “take action” against Rep. Matt Gaetz if the Justice Department formally moves ahead with legal action against him.

Florida’s two Republican senators are steering clear of voicing support for Rep. Matt Gaetz.

A day after the Republican Senate fundraising group praised Trump, he blasted the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, in a Florida speech.

Former President Donald Trump is staking his claim to the Republican Party in a closed-door speech to donors Saturday night, casting his populist policies and attack-dog politics as the key to future Republican success.

President Joe Biden is eager to have both Democrats and Republicans sign off on the American Jobs Plan. South Florida’s representatives in Congress are deeply divided.

The Republican Party is bringing hundreds of donors and several presidential prospects to the former president’s doorstep in south Florida this weekend.

To The Editor,I imagine there are animals who Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio care about deeply — perhaps a dog or a cat. The truth is there’s not much difference between these creatures and the more than a trillion aquatic and land animals we kill each year for human consumption. That’s why the senators should support federal funding for cultured-meat re-search. For readers who don’t know, cultured meat is grown from animal cells, without slaughter. Still, further development is necessary to make the price competitive with slaughtered meat.

At the time, then-Gov. Rick Scott had come out in favor of expansion, as long as the federal government was covering the costs. After he was reelected in 2014, he reversed course and didn’t speak in favor of a plan pushed by Senate Republicans in 2015 to expand Medicaid while imposing work requirements and attaching other strings. House Republicans again rejected the plan, but only after a standoff between the chambers that delayed the budget.

Daylight Saving Time has a rich history in the U.S., including Tuesday, when a group of senators led by Florida’s Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, re-introduced the “Sunshine Protection Act,” which would eliminate Daylight Saving Time. The idea has bipartisan support and was passed by the Florida Legislature in 2018. However, such a change requires federal support and that doesn’t seem imminent.

Florida Senator Rick Scott on future of Republican party Senator Rick Scott joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss the future of the Republican Party amid an apparent divide, and how he plans to flip the Senate in 2022.

“He didn’t directly say he was going to run in 2024, but he did,” Tucker said. “He was teasing us a little bit. Of course, I hoped he’d reveal more of whatever his plan is, but I understand why he probably can’t do that.”

They said children should not be treated as inmates and are calling on the Biden administration to keep the Homestead Detention Center closed. Homestead Detention Center (Copyright 2021 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.) There is opposition to a reported plan by President Biden to re-open the Homestead Detention center for migrant teens. She said the center would be a place where children can get access to education, mental health services and health services. Analysts say there were one thousand migrant children housed at the Homestead facility in 2019.

DeSantis is one of several possible 2024 GOP presidential contenders scheduled to address the conference, which runs through Sunday. Also on the list are: U.S. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, along with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota.

– Not waiting for more federal help, states have been approving their own coronavirus aid packages, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to help residents and business owners devastated by the the pandemic's economic fallout. North Carolina's governor wants additional state aid for such things as bonus pay for teachers and boosting rural internet speeds. The spending also provides fuel for critics who say states don’t need another massive infusion of cash from Congress. “The cascading effect, it’s actually a problem that most states are grappling with ... waiting for the relief money out of the feds,” she said. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, unveiled a $695 million emergency budget proposal that would use state money to address needs related to the coronavirus.

Former President Trump is scheduled to attend the Republican National Committee's spring donor retreat in Florida this April, according to a Republican familiar with the situation and an invitation obtained by CBS News. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel is scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump this week, a source confirmed to CBS News. State and local Republican parties have censured some of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump shot back at McConnell in a statement days later, calling the minority leader, "a dour, sullen, & unsmiling political hack." Mr. Trump is scheduled to make his first public speech since leaving office on Sunday at CPAC, a conservative political conference.

Former President Trump is scheduled to attend the Republican National Committee's spring donor retreat in Florida this April, according to a Republican familiar with the situation and an invitation obtained by CBS News. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel is scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump this week, a source confirmed to CBS News. State and local Republican parties have censured some of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump shot back at McConnell in a statement days later, calling the minority leader, "a dour, sullen, & unsmiling political hack." Mr. Trump is scheduled to make his first public speech since leaving office on Sunday at CPAC, a conservative political conference.

He didn’t run for reelection in 2010, instead running unsuccessfully as an independent candidate for U.S. Senate. He ran for governor as a Democrat in 2014, losing to then-Gov. Rick Scott by 1 percentage point of the vote. Crist is now in his third term as a member of Congress from a St. Petersburg-based district.

Two Florida GOP senators voted to acquit Donald Trump and gave their reasons why. PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Florida’s two senators voted to acquit former President Donald Trump on Saturday. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) stood alongside 41 of their Senate GOP colleagues, voting along party lines. pic.twitter.com/z5y6dkjml5 — Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 13, 2021The Associated Press reported that the outcome of Saturday’s vote and how GOP senators voted proves that the Republican party still belongs to Donald Trump. AdGallup reported last month that Trump’s approval among self-described Republicans stood at 82%.

Many of the reductions in staff began in the 2010s under DeSantis’ predecessor, Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. Senator, who pushed through massive cuts in 2011 and 2012 as the state made up large revenue shortfalls from the Great Recession. Most salaries remained flat during that time, too, as state workers received just one across the board pay raise in the last 10 years.

PARKLAND, Fla. – The past video of Marjorie Taylor Greene harassing a Parkland shooting survivor only amped the outrage over her calling that mass murder a hoax. A resolution launched Monday seeks to strip the Georgia Republican of committee assignments in Congress. Newly elected to Congress, Greene has supported QAnon conspiracies, assassinating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and suggested space lasers controlled by Jewish people sparked California wildfires. Rubio said, “Parkland was a real tragedy in which real parents lost real children. Comments made by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, including spreading conspiracy theories about the Parkland shooting, are disturbing.

Deutch, Hayes and Wasserman Schultz said they were tired of what became common while Trump was president and is playing out now with Greene: Republicans condemning behavior or rhetoric in private but unwilling to say anything publicly. “They’re deathly afraid of the primary they’d draw if they speak up. This is what separates leaders from cowards. The Republicans have a chance right now to decide which one they are. All I’ve seen is cowardice, save for a handful of Republicans so far,” Wasserman Schultz said.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Baptist Health has canceled first-dose appointments for seniors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the foreseeable future due to a shortage in supply. “We have not received an allocation of first dose vaccines for this week and beyond, and the timing of any subsequent deliveries remains unclear,” a spokesperson from the health system said. Balharry, who said he’s 66 with underlying health conditions, finally scored a vaccine appointment with Baptist Health online earlier this month. At the state-run Hard Rock Stadium site, people are wondering if these cards supplied after their first dose guarantees their second dose appointment or whether they need to go online again to make an appointment. If you’ve already made your first appointment and you already got your first dose at Baptist, they told us you will still be getting a second dose.

The GOP already faces a difficult Senate map in 2022, when 14 Democratic-held seats and 20 Republican ones will be on the ballot. That includes at least two open seats that Republicans will be defending because of the retirements of GOP Sens. One of those lawmakers, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, is the new chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a post that makes him the public face of the Senate Republican fundraising efforts. But two senior Republican strategists involved in Senate races say the cumulative effect of the companies' decisions could have a bigger impact. That puts more pressure on the NRSC and the leading Senate Republican outside group, Senate Leadership Fund, to cover the difference.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – This week’s chaos at The Capitol is under layers of investigation. 147 members of Congress, all Republicans, voted to reject electors in Arizona and Pennsylvania, which would effectively have disenfranchised millions of voters. Among those voting to decertify were Florida Senator Rick Scott and Miami Congressmen Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez. Only Gimenez accepted Local 10′s invitation to join This Week in South Florida, but he cancelled the morning of the show citing a medical emergency. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat from Boca Raton who represents Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, did join TWISF to discuss the week’s events, and their conversation can be seen at the top of this page.

Dozens of protestors gathered at Miami’s West End Park Saturday, marching to the home of Sen. Marco Rubio. They are demanding that he reject the Electoral College totals that show Joe Biden won the race for President or they will vote him out. Protestors march to the Miami home of Sen. Marco Rubio. That isn’t stopping the Enough 20201 group from trying to keep President Trump in office for a second term. “If they end up stealing this election, this will continue,” said President Trump supporter Enrique Tarrio.

One of the six Republican senators to vote against the bill was Florida’s Rick Scott. Scott released a statement explaining his decision, blasting the length of the bill and all the spending attached to it. Unfortunately they were attached to an omnibus spending bill that was thousands of pages long and chock full of handouts to special interests and wasteful spending. pic.twitter.com/7nsFYMj6M8 — Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 22, 2020“Early this afternoon, we were finally provided the text of the combined $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and $900 billion COVID relief bill. I’ve repeatedly voted against enormous and wasteful spending bills.

Florida accounts for about a fifth of the country’s wetlands and includes the Everglades, among the state’s most important environmental jewels. “The fact is that Florida’s proposed program to take over wetlands permitting doesn’t comply with federal environmental laws,” she said. Florida becomes the third state to gain broader permitting authority of wetlands under the federal Clean Water Act. Florida's request to gain sole permitting authority was launched under the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, took on that mantle and earlier this year formally petitioned the federal government to transfer that authority.

Scott, 67, has been quarantining at home all week after coming into contact in Florida on Nov. 13 with someone who subsequently tested positive. Scott, a Republican, said he was “feeling good” despite the mild symptoms and would be working at his home in Naples. “I want to remind everyone to be careful and do the right things to protect yourselves and others,” Scott said in a statement. House members could be regularly tested in the Capitol starting this week, but there is still no testing protocol for senators. The absence Scott and Grassley on Tuesday helped Democrats block the nomination of Judy Shelton, Trump’s controversial pick for the Federal Reserve.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has tested positive for COVID-19, he announced Friday morning. Scott’s office said he has been quarantining at his home in Naples since he came in contact with someone last Friday who had subsequently tested positive. “After several negative tests, I learned I was positive this morning,” Scott, 67, said in a statement. “I want to remind everyone to be careful and do the right things to protect yourselves and others,” Scott added in his statement. House members could be regularly tested in the Capitol starting this week, but there is still no testing protocol for senators.

Georgia would like a few moments of presidential campaign time. The state has fast become a stage for the cast of possible Republican presidential candidates after President Donald Trump's defeat. Meanwhile, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has sent a flurry of fundraising emails coaxing rank-and-file Republicans to bankroll the Georgia runoff campaigns. “Until there is a cure for Trumpism, the 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls will remain as frozen as a COVID vaccine,” Tyler quipped. For Democrats, there’s less future presidential intrigue to blend into the Georgia campaign.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A woman is facing criminal charges for making a threat on social media to shoot Florida’s governor and two U.S. senators. She’s facing three charges of making written threats to kill or do bodily harm to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. In the Twitter post, Jones says, “DeSantis, Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are looting my state. Imma shoot them.”During an interview with detectives, Jones said she made the post as a joke.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – After returning to Florida from a rally in Georgia for two Republican senate candidates, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., announced on Twitter that he began quarantining after he came in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The Florida senator had returned from a campaign rally in Cumming, Ga., for Republican candidates for U.S. Senate Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue on Friday night. I have no symptoms, but out of an abundance of caution, I will be immediately quarantining. On Saturday, Florida reported an increase of 4,544 COVID-19 cases, as well as 44 more resident deaths as a result of the virus. Florida is now up to 875,096 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 17,489 resident deaths, according to the health department’s dashboard.

Instead, the sprint to the Jan. 5 runoffs for two seats in Georgia will determine whether the Senate becomes a Republican-held check on Biden's agenda or a Democratic partnership with the new White House. With a Democratic Senate, Biden would have allies to easily confirm his nominees, including for cabinet positions, and shape passage of legislation. If Republicans keep control, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell can block Biden's agenda. Senate Republicans need Trump — and his voters — on board for the Georgia race. Loeffler and Perdue stunned many this week when they jointly called their own state election system an “embarrassment" as Biden was leading over Trump.

Residents clear debris from a flooded street in the Driftwood Acres Mobile Home Park, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Davie, Fla. Tropical Storm Eta was squatting off western Cuba on Tuesday after drifting away from South Florida, where it unleashed a deluge that flooded entire neighborhoods and covered the floors of some homes and businesses. Subsequently, a tropical storm warning was issued for the same general area. The storm has been in the Gulf of Mexico since crossing over South Florida on Sunday. Ron DeSantis issued an expanded emergency declaration to include 13 counties along or near the Gulf coast, adding them to South Florida counties.

State leaders eliminated computer punchcard ballots, implemented statewide recount laws and made it easy to cast and process ballots before Election Day. Though there are other scenarios that make elections officials nervous, the computer punch-card ballots that fueled 2000's chaos are buried in history's landfill. Casting valid ballots and processing them is now easier, even before Election Day, and the Legislature has enacted clearer laws governing recounts. If the statewide margin then is within a half-percentage point — likely about 55,000 votes — a machine recount would occur. These voters are notified and have until two days after the election to prove their identity, but many won’t respond.

NAPLES, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis couldn’t initially cast his ballot this week because someone changed his address online. DeSantis went to an early voting site in Tallahassee on Monday to cast his ballot but was told his address had been changed from the governor’s mansion to a West Palm Beach apartment complex 420 miles away. A state investigation traced the change to an apartment in Naples, Florida. Guevara told police he also accessed information for Sen. Rick Scott and celebrities including Michael Jordan and LeBron James — but that he only changed DeSantis' address.

ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said he misspoke Saturday when he said on national television that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The Republican from Florida tweeted: “I misspoke this morning in my @FoxNews interview. I was tested yesterday for COVID and tested NEGATIVE.”I misspoke this morning in my @FoxNews interview. A few moments before he misspoke, Scott had said that senators were still doing their jobs. A short time later, Scott’s spokesman, Chris Hartline, tweeted, “For everyone calling and texting right now, Senator Scott misspoke on tv this morning.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – In pre-pandemic days, the weekly roundtable discussion on This Week in South Florida was a regular part of the show. It reviewed the week’s top stories and allowed for different voices and viewpoints on each to be heard. Carlos Lopez-Cantera was Florida’s Lieutenant Governor under Rick Scott and a former member of the Florida Legislature. Burnadette Norris-Weeks is an attorney and civic activist from Fort Lauderdale. They joined Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg for this week’s roundtable discussion, and it can be seen at the top of this page.

COLUMBIA, S.C. With one stroke, President Donald Trumps abrupt reversal on offshore drilling this week has loosened a political vise that was tightening around three Republicans senators running for reelection in coastal states where drilling is widely opposed. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia, all Democratic targets. Brian Kemp, another Trump ally, and his Republican predecessor, Nathan Deal, have opposed drilling off the state's 100-mile (160 km) coast. The decision by President Trump to include South Carolina meets the desires of our coastal communities and states leadership, Graham said. I very much appreciate President Trump for listening to our state and delivering for our people.___Ben Nadler in Atlanta contributed to this report.

MIAMI SPRINGS, Fla. – The Miami Springs community is paying tribute to the healthcare heroes who have been working so tirelessly during the pandemic. On this Labor Day, amid a pandemic, it’s been a year where many became familiar with the term ‘essential workers’ to talk about our frontline community members. Added Mitchell: “We have people out of work on Labor Day, people worried sick,” people not sure how to make ends meet. Added Mitchell: “Labor Day becomes a different monster during the pandemic we got to look at what needs to happen. Right now, local, state and municipality governments are having to pick up the reins because we don’t have a national plan.

WASHINGTON Republicans this week are focused squarely on their convention's star, President Donald Trump, and securing his reelection in November. Theres a lot happening behind the scenes already," said Republican strategist Alex Conant, who worked for the 2016 campaign of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Also allotted time slots: Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Florida Sen. Rick Scott and Donald Trump Jr. "Theres others out there, but nobody else is even close in that stratosphere.Much will depend on whether Trump secures a second term. In her convention speech Monday night, Haley gave an unabashed endorsement of the president while spending time introducing herself to viewers.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A far-right social media provocateur whose hate speech got her banned from social media won her Republican primary on Tuesday and will challenge Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel for Congress in November. Laura Loomer also won praise from President Donald Trump early Wednesday, who tweeted that she has a great chance." Loomer received 43% in a six-candidate Republican field, garnering 14,500 votes. Frankel, running against a political newcomer, received 75,000 votes, or 86% in the Democratic primary, which had 87,000 votes cast. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Medium, PayPal, Venmo, GoFundMe, Uber and Lyft have banned her, but her messages get out through tweets by supporters and other workarounds, the Palm Beach Post reported.

She burned through her savings while awaiting financial relief from Floridas unemployment office. DeSantis has acknowledged that the unemployment system known as CONNECT was like a jalopy in the Daytona 500 being left in the dust." And that relates to management of the system.Florida's unemployment woes add to the troubles for Trump five months from Election Day. In April, Floridas unemployment rate hit 12.9%, up from 2.8% in February. Its one of those things where once the issue is solved, its going to disappear, said Florida Republican Party chairperson Joe Gruters.