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.
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.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Some Florida school districts are rolling back a more comprehensive approach to sex education in favor of abstinence-focused lessons under pressure from state officials who have labeled certain instruction on contraception, anatomy and consent as inappropriate for students.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A political committee behind the campaign to pass a constitutional right to abortion in Florida has filed a lawsuit against a state health care agency that it alleges is carrying out a taxpayer-funded "misinformation" campaign against the November ballot measure.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- State police in Florida are showing up at the homes of voters who signed a petition to get an abortion rights amendment on the ballot in November as part of a state probe into alleged petition fraud.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- State police are showing up at Florida voters' homes to question them about signing a petition to get an abortion rights amendment on the ballot in November, and a state health care agency has launched a website targeting the ballot initiative with politically charged language.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A Republican state representative in central Florida has been indicted on felony forgery charges related to her administration of a private Christian school that she helped run with her family.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis isn't on the ballot Tuesday -- but his education agenda is.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Ron DeSantis' "parental rights" campaign didn't win him the Republican presidential nomination, but he's still waging that fight on another front: Florida's schools, where the movement could have an impact on public education long after he leaves office.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Ron DeSantis' "parental rights" campaign didn't win him the Republican presidential nomination, but he's still waging that fight on another front: Florida's schools, where the movement could have an impact on public education long after he leaves office.