Free Republic

While blue-state politicians are busy hosting climate summits, renaming highways and explaining why your electric bill doubled, Gov. Ron DeSantis is doing something increasingly rare in American politics: governing like an adult with a calculator. This week, DeSantis rolled out a pair of measures aimed squarely at one of the next great political fights in America — hyperscale AI data centers gobbling up electricity, water and land while ordinary residents get stuck with the bill. And unlike the performative governing out of California or New York, Florida’s approach is brutally simple: protect taxpayers first. “This bill I think is the...

WASHINGTON — A massive gilded statue of President Donald Trump installed at his Miami golf course is definitely not a “golden calf” to be worshipped, the pastor who led a dedication ceremony for the eyebrow-raising effigy insisted Friday. Financed by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and supporters of Trump, the 15-foot (4.6-meter) tall bronze statue is covered in gold leaf — a favorite style of the president — and its fate had been uncertain as its creator awaited final payment for months. But the “Don Colossus” statue, which depicts Trump raising his fist after surviving an assassination attempt in 2024, was finally unveiled...

Chris Toukonen apparently has a drug problem. He's also a teacher at Lely High School in Naples, Florida. Toukonen, 44, has a shiny new set of felony drug charges to add to his résumé, along with possession of narcotic paraphernalia. According to reports, administrators got wind of suspected drug use while Toukonen was alone in the classroom. They then searched his backpack, found cocaine and fentanyl, and called the Collier County Sheriff's Office. Deputies showed up, investigated, and hauled him off to jail. No other drugs were found in his classroom or his vehicle on campus. Look at those pinpoint...

BREAKING: CFO of Florida Blaise Ingoglia arrested Abbas Rehman who allegedly stole over $2.8M in SNAP benefits He now faces up to 30 years behind bars “This is not Minnesota. This is Florida. If you’re going to steal, you can expect to go to prison!” 🔥 VIDEO AT LINK.....................

WASHINGTON — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is crisscrossing the country as he lays the groundwork for an increasingly likely 2028 presidential campaign — refining his pitch, building relationships and working to move past his bruising 2024 defeat by President Trump. The term-limited Sunshine State governor, 47, started the week by joining business leaders at the Milken Institute’s global conference in Beverly Hills and will keynote the New York Republican Party’s May 19 annual gala at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. “I’m in my mid-40s. [20]28, you know, maybe beyond that, I think that there’s a lot of runway,” DeSantis said...

A 12-year-old Florida girl is facing felony charges after authorities claim she used a classmate’s account to send a chilling threat to "shoot up" her elementary school. The girl is charged with making written or electronic threats to kill and unlawful use of a two-way communications device, both felonies, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office. Over the weekend, detectives received a report about an explicit written threat sent to a teacher at Louise S. McInnis Elementary School. In addition to threatening the teacher, the sender said they were going to "shoot up" the school on the last day of class,...

A Secret Service employee was arrested and placed on leave after he was allegedly caught masturbating in front of guests at a Miami hotel, according to authorities and reports. John Spillman, 33, was charged with indecent exposure for the disturbing incident that unfolded at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Miami Airport and Convention Center on Sunday night, according to court records and WSVN. Hotel guests told investigators they were in the hotel lobby around midnight when Spillman allegedly followed them to their room, according to an arrest report obtained by the outlet. The guests then alarmingly spotted him “masturbating next...

Border Patrol agents working in Tampa, Florida, have arrested their 1,000th child sex offender in just four months. The 1,000th arrest was of a Trinidadian man convicted of five felony child sex offenses in Hillsborough County with a lengthy criminal record. They’re working out of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Miami Sector’s Tampa Station, one of the oldest Border Patrol stations in the country. The Tampa Station first opened in 1925 to respond to large smuggling rings entering Florida using Cuban fishing boats. It is the only station on Florida’s west coast. Its area of responsibility covers 12 counties...

Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace named several lawmakers Monday who she claims used a congressional “slush fund” to cover up alleged sex scandals. Mace said she uncovered 1,000 pages of documents detailing how certain lawmakers allegedly evaded consequences for sexual scandals, according to a Monday post on X. Mace originally subpoenaed the House Oversight Committee in March in light of a string of sexual scandals that resulted in two resignations from Congress. (RELATED: REPORT: Two GOP Lawmakers Go Head-To-Head In Push To Expel One Another) Notably, Mace said that these documents are only from the last 22 years, claiming...

Map seeks to maximize GOP House seats ahead of midterms ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s new congressional map is now official. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on X.com that he signed the redistricting bill lawmakers passed last week with a simple post showing the map, with the words “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered.” A few hours later, the first lawsuit was announced. The new map redraws a number of districts, particularly in Central Florida, the Tampa area, and South Florida. DeSantis pushed for the mid-decade redistricting for a few reasons. 1. He said the influx of new residents after the 2020 Census necessitated...

President Donald Trump spoke at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida on Friday night, and he seemed in a jocular mood. He had a wry smile on his face as he talked about the 67-year-old problem of communist Cuba, which is only 90 miles off Key West. The long-suffering residents have faced dire economic conditions for decades, and photographs show an island country still mired in the 1960s. Meanwhile, they have a long history of cozying up to our enemies. Maybe we’ll just take it, the president joked (?). Watch: 🚨 JUST IN: President Trump says he...

Florida deputies arrested 266 people in a six-day undercover sting targeting alleged human traffickers, child predators and illegal immigrants. Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s (PCSO) six-day operation “Polk Around and Find Out” during a Friday press conference. He announced 247 arrests connected to human trafficking. Officials previously said there were 19 more apprehensions connected to child sexual predators. Of the 247 trafficking-related apprehensions, 34 are in the U.S. illegally and 22 were receiving public benefits totaling more than $15,000 per month, according to the PCSO, FOX 13 reported, citing the PCSO. Those taken...

Florida Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon temporarily disrupted final passage of a Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed redistricting bill by shouting in a bullhorn during the vote.

State lawmakers on Wednesday passed redrawn congressional lines that create an additional four GOP-leaning seats in Florida, making it the eighth state to complete mid-decade redistricting in the 2026 election cycle — and likely setting up a historic legal challenge in the state. The proposal passed the Florida state House and Senate on largely partisan lines, even as some members of the Republican majorities have expressed skepticism about redrawing the congressional lines. Florida GOP lawmakers largely remained silent publicly as the state has become part of a Trump-backed mid-decade redistricting push designed to beef up Republicans' slim U.S. House majority...

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., on Monday unveiled a proposed slate of congressional district maps that would see the state net four-Republican leaning seats. The map, first reported by Fox News, would limit Democratic seats to Orlando, and three isolated urban bubbles along the southeastern coast. Florida currently has 20 Republican seats and 8 Democratic seats. The new map would shift the balance to 24 Republicans and 4 Democrats. The move comes in the wake of the Virginia redistricting referendum, which saw voters approve a plan that would shift Virginia from 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans to 10 Democrats and 1...

🚨 ABC, CBS & NBC: Total Blackout Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) just got hit with 25 ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee. She’s accused of stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds — money meant for hurricane & COVID victims — then laundering it through her campaign and spending on personal luxuries like a diamond ring. She faces up to 53 years in prison. George Santos got wall-to-wall coverage for weeks. This Democrat? Zero seconds on ABC, CBS, or NBC evening news. NewsBusters confirmed the total media blackout. The media isn’t biased. They’re complicit. #MediaBias #TwoTieredJustice #CherfilusMcCormick

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned from Congress on Tuesday, 30 minutes before she was scheduled to appear before an ethics panel over her alleged theft of $5 million in taxpayer money to fund her political ambitions. A House Ethics investigative subcommittee found last month that she violated more than two dozen laws, rules or regulations governing lawmakers and was weighing whether to recommend a censure — or potential expulsion. “After careful reflection and prayer, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time,” the Florida Democrat...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida committed numerous violations of House rules and ethics standards, the House Ethics Committee found Friday in a ruling that could add weight to Republicans’ potential push to expel her from Congress.After meeting into early Friday morning following a seven-hour hearing, the ethics panel of four Democrats and four Republicans found that Cherfilus-McCormick had committed 25 ethics violations, including breaking campaign finance laws. The panel said it would recommend a punishment in the coming weeks. The allegations center around Cherfilus-McCormick’s receipt of millions of dollars from her family’s health care business after...

Russian President Vladimir Putin could travel to the G20 summit in Miami in December, the Kremlin said on Friday after U.S. President ​Donald Trump suggested it would be very helpful if he did attend and that it had been a mistake to expel Russia from the G8. The United States has invited Russia to the annual meeting of Group of 20 countries that Washington is holding this year in Miami, and Moscow has accepted the invitation, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said on Friday. Putin has not attended a G20 summit since 2019 due to the COVID pandemic...

“Smoke drifts into Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as air quality declines and 50 homes destroyed. Wildfires burning across the south-eastern US intensified on Wednesday across parts of south-east Georgia, where 50 homes were destroyed, and across north-east Florida, forcing evacuations and school closures in some communities. The Georgia forestry commission issued its first mandatory burn ban in the state’s history, effective across 91 counties in the lower half of the state, due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity.”