Latest in Florida

While over 60 thousand residents were without power in surrounding Lake and Orange counties this morning, Walt Disney World Resort was left relatively unscathed by the passing of Tropical Storm Nicole overnight. The system dropped 4-5 inches of rain on Orlando, portions of which were flooded six weeks ago…

Florida and South Carolina are bracing for their second hurricane in five weeks, and local film and TV production is being affected again. Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to hit the Sunshine State's Atlantic Coast as a Category 1 hurricane by tonight, bringing coastal floods, strong winds…

UPDATED with latest: Walt Disney World Resort and neighboring Universal Orlando Resort both announced they would be closing today at 5 p.m. ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole. Universal indicated it is looking at “a phased and delayed reopening on Thursday,” the timing of which will be announced “once…

Asked today if he was serious recently when he challenged Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to a debate on CNN, California Governor Gavin Newsom replied to a group of reporters, “Of course I am, but it’s a tough time to bring that up.” He went on to shift the conversation to Hurricane Ian, which had just made landfall in…

Category 4 Hurricane Ian made landfall this afternoon near Fort Myers, Florida with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. In doing so, it became the fifth-largest storm to hit the U.S. mainland — at least in recorded history — and the Weather Channel was there to cover it. Meteorologist Jim Cantore was at ground zero to…

Universal Orlando Resort, including CityWalk, will close on Wednesday, the company announced today. The closure will continue on Thursday — when the storm is expected to be at its peak in Central Florida — and be lifted Friday. But an update from the Weather Channel on the rapidly developing conditions casts some…

With Gavin Newsom currently holding a 27-point lead in the race for California’s top office, the Golden State governor — who continues to deny national political ambitions — is again leveraging his campaign war chest to confront Republican governors in their own states. Today, Newsom unveiled three billboard ads that…

“Time to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote today of the Florida leader. Newsom proposed to do so by donating $100,000 to DeSantis’ opponent in the November midterm, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla). Newsom posted the statement on Twitter along with a link to an ActBlue…

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is cast as a maverick in a new campaign ad. Or more accurately, he’s cast as THE Maverick, Tom Cruise’s character from this summer’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. In the “Top Gov” spot released late Monday, DeSantis arrives in a bomber jacket and — mirroring scenes from the film — gives a…

Gavin Newsom has a unique way of courting California voters. California’s governor has run his second out-of-state ad this month, first in Florida and now in Texas. In the ads, Newsom is targeting two prominent Republican governors who many tout as potential GOP presidential candidates on two big, national issues: gun…

Gavin Newsom denied that his recent ad inviting Floridians to “join us in California” had anything to do with presidential ambitions. Many see Newsom, a Democrat, and Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, who is a Republican, as the frontrunners in the 2024 race for the White House. The CA governor called the notion "Nonsensical…

Two Florida Sheriff’s deputies have been suspended for 81 hours without pay, according to the Associated Press, for leaking details about Bob Saget’s death before the comedian’s family was informed of his passing. One of the deputies, who was involved in the response on January 9, told his brother about the event and…