While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Kate Payne, The Associated Press.
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Florida officials are plowing ahead with a proposal to roll back certain vaccine mandates for the state's schoolchildren, after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called for the state to become the first in the nation to eliminate all school vaccination requirements.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Local officials in Florida's capital city have voted to sell a city-owned golf course built on top of the graves of enslaved people to a once-segregated country club, despite vocal opposition from local residents and historians.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's Republican-controlled House is holding the first meeting of its select committee on congressional redistricting Thursday, as the state becomes the latest to consider redrawing electoral maps amid a partisan battle for every edge in next year's midterm elections.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Another GOP contender has launched a bid to succeed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as Florida's next governor, teeing up a broader challenge to President Donald Trump 's chosen candidate to lead his adopted home state.
A federal indictment charges U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida with stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds, laundering some of the money through straw donors to her congressional campaign and then conspiring to file a false tax return, the Justice Department announced.
A federal indictment charges U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida with stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds, laundering some of the money through straw donors to her congressional campaign and then conspiring to file a false tax return, the Justice Department announced.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- At 100 years old, Lee Grant knows the cost of McCarthyism better than almost anyone else on the planet.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida elections officials have taken early steps under pressure from activists to advance a proposed initiative to legalize recreational marijuana to next year's ballot, legal filings show.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- At 100 years old, Lee Grant knows the cost of McCarthyism better than almost anyone else on the planet.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, claiming the organization is "misrepresenting the safety" of abortion pills.
The board of a South Florida college is appealing a judge's ruling temporarily blocking officials from giving away a parcel of prime real estate in downtown Miami to be used for President Donald Trump's future presidential library.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida is suing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration in the state's Supreme Court, alleging state elections officials are trying to improperly block the measure from getting on the ballot in 2026.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A pair of court rulings declaring some of Florida's gun restrictions unconstitutional are creating some confusion in the notoriously firearm-friendly state -- and fueling activists' calls for Republican legislators to take action to update state statutes so they abide by the new legal landscape.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The University of South Florida in Tampa on Tuesday named longtime academic Moez Limayem as the sole finalist to be its next president, the latest university in the Sunshine State to announce only one contender in the search for its new leader.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Over the last five months, Florida law enforcement officials have arrested more than 6,000 people suspected of being in the country illegally, a U.S. Border Patrol official announced Friday, as the state continues its aggressive approach to help carry out President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing to establish President Donald Trump's presidential library in an iconic stretch of downtown Miami.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Provisions of a Florida law restricting the state's process for getting citizens' initiatives on the ballot can go into effect, a federal appeals court has decided. The decision issued Tuesday overrules a lower court's order that blocked portions of the law from being enforced while the legal challenge brought by grassroots campaigners plays out.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Democratic former school board member who garnered attention for defeating a future cofounder of Moms for Liberty has announced her 2026 bid for the U.S. Senate in Florida.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Republican former speaker of the Florida House is joining the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis next year.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Attorneys for grassroots campaigners are again asking a federal judge to halt enforcement of parts of a new Florida law that restricts the state's process to get citizens' initiatives on the ballot.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has tapped Republican state Sen. Jay Collins to be his next lieutenant governor. It's a closely watched appointment by the two-term governor, who can't run for reelection in 2026 and has been working to cement his legacy as his time leading the state winds down.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws and regulations.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A former Republican congressman and vocal critic of Donald Trump says he wants to become governor in the president's adopted home state of Florida, and that he's running as a Democrat.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A federal judge has largely denied requests by grassroots campaigners to block portions of a new Florida law that restricts the state's citizen-driven process for getting constitutional amendments on the ballot.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Every day that a new Florida law remains on the books restricting the state's process to get citizens' initiatives on the ballot, the First Amendment rights of campaigners are being infringed upon, their attorneys argued in court Thursday.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Progressive advocates have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging new restrictions on Florida's process to get citizen-driven initiatives on the ballot before voters.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- When Florida state Rep. Fiona McFarland's infant daughter, Grace Melton, crawled for the first time, the mom of four was right next door, hard at work with her legislative policy staff in the state Capitol.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- When Florida state Rep. Fiona McFarland's infant daughter, Grace Melton, crawled for the first time, the mom of four was right next door, hard at work with her legislative policy staff in the state Capitol.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The top Democrat in Florida's Senate is leaving his party, declaring that "the Democratic Party in Florida is dead."
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Student survivors of last week's deadly shooting at Florida State University urged state legislators Tuesday to block an effort to reverse a law passed after the 2018 Parkland school shooting that lowered the state's gun-buying age from 21 to 18.
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's Republican chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis fended off a challenge by Democrat Gay Valimont to win Tuesday's special election for northwest Florida's 1st Congressional District, which President Donald Trump carried by about 37 points in November.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida state Sen. Randy Fine won Tuesday's special election for a vacant congressional seat that the president carried by 30 points less than five months ago.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Democrats, with few electoral outlets for their outrage at President Donald Trump's dramatic restructuring of the federal government, are pouring millions of dollars into two special elections in Florida.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Democrats, with few electoral outlets for their outrage at President Donald Trump's dramatic restructuring of the federal government, are pouring millions of dollars into two special elections in Florida.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Once floated as the heir to Donald Trump's GOP, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is used to getting his way in Tallahassee. He has wielded power like no other governor in the state's recent history and enjoys a Republican supermajority in both chambers.
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- As the Trump administration forges ahead with its dramatic reshaping of the federal government, voters in a northwest Florida congressional district that's home to thousands of veterans will be among the first to put the president's agenda to an electoral test.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- In a state so often bitterly divided along partisan lines, Democrats and Republicans alike were moved to tears as they gathered in Florida's capitol on Thursday to honor the life and legacy of Democratic state Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a longtime legislator, civil rights legend and educator who died on Feb. 13 at the age of 76...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A federal judge is weighing whether to block a Florida law from going into effect that would ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, have returned to the U.S. after authorities lifted travel restrictions on the siblings, who have millions of online followers.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The aspirations of Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis have long been a topic of discussion in the state capital of Tallahassee. This week, her husband Gov. Ron DeSantis added to the speculation by talking her up as his potential successor.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approaches the end of his second term in office, he's talking up one potential heir to succeed him in 2026: his wife, Casey DeSantis. And he's taking a shot at President Donald Trump 's pick to be the next governor.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approaches the end of his second term in office, he's talking up one potential heir to succeed him in 2026: his wife, Casey DeSantis. And he's taking a shot at President Donald Trump 's pick to be the next governor.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's new attorney general filed a federal court lawsuit against Target on Thursday, claiming the discount store chain "misled investors" by promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that prompted a backlash and hurt sales, ultimately costing shareholders.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on immigration legislation he says is the toughest in the nation, Florida's Republican leaders have named the director of the new state board of immigration enforcement: an architect of the controversial effort to fly migrants from Texas to a Massachusetts resort town.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Atlantic University on Monday picked a former Republican lawmaker as its leader in what is the latest example of a public university in the state picking someone with a political background for such high-paying posts over experienced academic leaders.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez has been named the interim president of Florida International University, a move that hands term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis the opportunity to elevate an ally to the powerful position ahead of the 2026 governor's race.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will take Marco Rubio 's seat in the U.S. Senate, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday, making Moody only the second woman to represent Florida in the chamber.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Florida state lawmaker has filed a bill that would ban some public colleges and universities from admitting immigrants who are in the country without legal permission. The proposal comes the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special legislative session to help implement President-elect Donald Trump's immigration policies.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Florida state lawmaker has filed a bill that would ban some public colleges and universities from admitting undocumented immigrants as students. The proposal comes the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special legislative session to help implement President-elect Donald Trump's immigration policies.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling state lawmakers into a special session to help carry out President-elect Donald Trump's promises for a swift crackdown on immigration.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed five new members to the board overseeing the University of West Florida in Pensacola, including two people affiliated with the conservative think tank behind Project 2025.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Democrats' losses didn't end on Election Day -- a second state lawmaker has announced she's switching her party affiliation and joining the Republican caucus.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Buried among Florida's manicured golf courses and sprawling suburbs are the artifacts of its slave-holding past: the long-lost cemeteries of enslaved people, the statutes of Confederate soldiers that still stand watch over town squares, the old plantations turned into modern subdivisions that bear the same name. But many students aren't learning that kind of Black history...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida authorities announced Wednesday that they're pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A state attorney in Florida told his staff he can't legally help his elected replacement take over his seat because Gov. Ron DeSantis had already suspended the Democrat from the office, according to an internal email obtained by The Associated Press.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Floridians will likely know who their next U.S. senator will be by the beginning of January, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- As President-elect Donald Trump names picks for his new administration from his private club in Palm Beach and prepares to return to the White House, he's bringing the Sunshine State with him.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Republican former state lawmaker in northwest Florida who has never worked in academia is poised to become the latest in a string of conservative politicians taking the helm of public colleges and universities in the state.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Florida school board candidate who lost his race in a county south of Jacksonville will get a seat on the board anyway, after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped him to fill a vacancy.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday continued to block the head of Florida's health department from taking any more steps to threaten TV stations that air commercials for an abortion rights measure on next week's ballot.