Free Republic

Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $35 million the state legislature had approved in the latest state budget to help build a spring training facility for the Tampa Bay Rays. “I don’t support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period,” DeSantis said.

Peter Rice, the chairman of General Entertainment Content for Disney who spoke out against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Parental Rights in Education” law, has been ousted from his position, according to Deadline. Rice, who has worked at Disney since 2019, in late March told The Hollywood Reporter he saw the law as a “violation of fundamental human rights.”

The Florida governor's comments were prompted by viral videos of children attending a drag show at a Dallas gay bar Saturday.

Two brothers, ages 14 and 11, were arrested after police said they broke into a Florida gun shop and stole 22 firearms and ammunition. The juveniles were taken into custody on Wednesday on numerous charges including 22 counts of grand theft of a firearm, one count of armed burglary, one count of criminal mischief, and one count of resisting without violence, the Cape Coral Police Department said at a news conference. The 14-year-old was also charged with violating his probation. NBC News is not naming the suspects because they are minors. The arrests come amid a nationwide debate on gun...

Politics Fact Checker Biden administration The 202s Polling Redistricting tracker June 8, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT Christina Pushaw, press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), has become a prominent protector of her boss and a fierce critic of the media. (Paul Hennessey/SOPA Images/Shutterstock) A spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) this week registered as a foreign agent of a former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, belatedly detailing work she performed for the politician between 2018 and 2020. The spokeswoman, Christina Pushaw, made the disclosure following contact from the Justice Department, according to her attorney, Michael Sherwin. She...

"It always baffles me when guys use Jesus as their excuse to discriminate."Openly gay pro-baseball player Bryan Ruby is outraged over some Tampa Bay Rays players’ personal decision not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniform for Pride Night, in at least one case expressly for “faith-based” reasoning.Ruby, who has played in the minor leagues but is reportedly taking June off, trashed the players in an interview with USA TODAY Sports, claiming their actions make other gay people feel like “second-class citizens” and are using Jesus to shield their homophobia.“It always baffles me when guys use Jesus as their...

<p>A Florida man grabbed his wife’s car and chased after three armed suspects accused of stealing his vehicle, according to a report.</p><p>Driving a Dodge Caravan, Edgar Diaz arrived in a parking lot off Commander Drive in Orlando when he was approached by three armed suspects, police told FOX 35.</p>

Gov. Ron DeSantis is downplaying recent straw polls showing him as a leading presidential prospect in 2024. DeSantis has outperformed former President Donald Trump in a number of such informal surveys at various events in recent weeks, a phenomenon leading to an increasing amount of stories on the seeming trend. As he has done when asked about a desire to run for President in 2024, DeSantis sidestepped the question. “I don’t do straw polls. They just put my name into these things, you know? It’s just, like, so what am I supposed to do? Like they sell merchandise and everything....

Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R.) is taking out a Spanish-language radio ad to warn voters about a George Soros-backed company's purchase of Hispanic radio stations in Miami in order to "infiltrate" the state with leftist ideology. "Warning, voters! The Left is taking control of our local media," reads an English translation of the DeSantis campaign's ad, which will run on stations set to be acquired by a conglomerate financed by the left-wing billionaire. "George Soros, known for financing extreme leftist causes, is now financing the purchase of Hispanic radio stations right here in Miami." The Latino Media Network, backed by...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) bested former President Trump for the second year in a row in a 2024 presidential election straw poll conducted Saturday. The poll was taken at the Western Conservative Summit in Aurora, Colo …

Miami’s Radio Mambí, a mainstay of the right-wing Cuban community in Florida, is among 18 stations being sold to a group funded by George Soros. Florida conservatives are in an uproar about a proposed media deal that would result in one of the state’s most rabidly conservative talk radio stations being sold to a group headed by prominent Democratic activists and partially funded by businessman George Soros, seen by some as a progressive bogeyman. Under the proposed $60 million deal, the new Latino Media Network would take control of 18 radio stations in 10 of the cities with highest concentration...

After a handful of Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear rainbow-clad uniforms for Pride Night on Saturday, the only openly-gay active player in professional baseball said "discrimination and hate has a voice in baseball and you saw it in Tampa." "We have seen a lot of teams selling rainbow merchandise and doing Pride Nights, which is great, but they need to actually support their players," Bryan Ruby said of the situation in Tampa, which he called "sad and frustrating." "We get one night at the ballpark to be ourselves all year, and it just was an indication that a...

The Univisión-Televisa conglomerate has made a deal with a left-wing coalition financed in part by George Soros to purchase 18 Spanish-language radio stations around the country, reports revealed this week – including historic anti-communist Miami station Radio Mambí. The purchase, which still requires FCC approval, is an attempt to stem the tide of Hispanic-Americans voting for Republicans based on cultural conservative values and a growing disdain for the failed presidency of Joe Biden – or, as one of the executives in charge of the purchase described it, to combat “disinformation.” If approved, the deal would put the 18 radio stations...

Gov. Ron DeSantis red-lined the $35 million budget item approved by the House and Senate to build a youth sports complex in Pasco County. The Rays clearly hoped to move their spring training headquarters there from Port Charlotte. DeSantis gave two reasons for the veto. The first: the Governor said he doesn’t “support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period.” He’s not wrong there. But the other reason was more in line with his “think like I do, or else” agenda. After the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, the Rays donated $50,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety. They tweeted: “We...

Annette Taddeo drops out of Florida gubernatorial race and shifts focus to US House seat By Steve Contorno, CNN Mon June 06, 2022 (CNN) Florida state Sen. Annette Taddeo is dropping out of the Democratic primary for governor and instead plans to run for a Miami-area congressional seat. Taddeo changed the bio on her campaign Twitter page on Monday to say, "Democrat for Congress in Florida's 27th District." Taddeo first shared her decision with CBS4 News in Miami, and explained that she had made the call to change races after the recent spree of mass shootings around the country. "We...

The Florida Department of Health urged the state’s board of medicine to establish standards of care in accordance with guidance strongly advising against child sex treatments in a Thursday letter. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo pointed to a lack of evidence on the safety and efficacy of the procedures and urged the Florida Board of Medicine to consider the department’s guidance that advised against child sex changes, according to the letter. The move is the latest effort from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to restrict sex-change treatments, particularly for children. “The Department thinks that the evidence speaks for itself,” Florida...

'You know who I am?': Congressional candidate Martin Hyde threatens cop's career during traffic stop He apologized to Sarasota Police Officer Julia Beskin as he signaled his campaign's collapse. Update: Martin Hyde has since told Fox News he is still running. Sarasota congressional candidate Martin Hyde appears to have ended his campaign against U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan. The move comes after Hyde received national media attention — and scorn — over a police body cam video of his actions at a traffic stop. In a letter published by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Hyde apologized for his behavior. But he also made...

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $35 million in funding to the Tampa Bay Rays sports training and youth tournament facility in Pasco County Thursday after touting their support of a gun control advocacy group. The Major League Baseball (MLB) team posted a statement claiming a $50,000 commitment to Everytown for Gun Safety’s Support Fund, a pro-gun control advocacy group. The team posted the statement two days after the Uvalde shooting inside Robb Elementary School, which left 19 children and 2 fourth-grade teachers dead. “This cannot become normal. We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way. We all...

Five Tampa Bay Rays pitchers have refused to wear the gay pride logo on their uniforms citing religious beliefs. Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson — of course all saying they accept everyone despite their choice to pass on the gesture. The team wore rainbow-colored sleeve patches this past Saturday where these five opted for their standard unis. Jason Adam was asked to comment on their decision — his response was strong. “So it’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved...

Gov. Ron DeSantis once again swept a straw poll for 2024 presidential candidates at a Colorado conservative conference Saturday, beating out former former President Donald Trump and other possible contenders. The attendees of the Western Conservative Summit, organized by the Centennial Institute, a think tank associated with Colorado Christian University, approved of a potential DeSantis candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination at 71%, with Trump coming in at 67%. The straw poll was conducted based on an "approval" system, which allowed attendees to vote for more than one candidate that they could support. DeSantis won the 2024 straw poll last...