Free Republic

Republican Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins launched his bid Monday for Florida governor to replace Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to a report. Collins cited his military experience while announcing his run for the governor’s house in a post on X. DeSantis will be leaving the governor’s mansion at the end of his second term next year. Collins, a former state senator and Army Green Beret, was appointed lieutenant governor by DeSantis to replace Jeanette Nuñez after she stepped down to become president of Florida International University. “I’m running for Governor because leadership is forged under pressure, not in soundbites. I...

Secret Service discovered item during security sweep ahead of president's departure from Mar-a-LagoA suspicious object discovered during a security sweep at Palm Beach International Airport ahead of President Donald Trump’s departure from Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Sunday prompted the U.S. Secret Service to adjust the presidential motorcade route, the White House said. The discovery did not disrupt Trump’s travel schedule, officials said, as agents evaluated the item and made security adjustments out of an abundance of caution. "During advance sweeps of PBI Airport, a suspicious object was discovered by USSS," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "A further investigation...

The man who stole a lectern from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office on Jan 6th is running as a Republican for public office in Florida, according to our CBS sister station in West Palm Beach WPEC. 41-year-old Adam Johnson became known as "The lectern guy" after he was caught on camera during the incident. According to WPEC, He later pleaded guilty to entering or remaining in a restricted building and was sentenced to 75 days in prison. Johnson filed paperwork to run for an at-large county commission seat in Manatee county-Florida. According to his campaign website, Johnson says he...

According to Palm Beach Fire Rescue, lifeguards at Ocean Reef Park saw someone operating a powered paraglider when a gust of wind caused a partial parachute collapse, which caused the man to spiral into the oceanA paraglider who fell into a Florida beach on Friday prompted a swift response by rescue crews. According to Palm Beach Fire Rescue, lifeguards at Ocean Reef Park saw someone operating a powered paraglider when a gust of wind caused a partial parachute collapse, which caused the man to spiral into the ocean. Fire rescue said the man fell from 500 feet in the air...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The killing of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is reverberating across Capitol Hill where Democrats, and certain Republicans, are vowing an assertive response as President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation operations spark protests nationwide.Lawmakers are demanding a range of actions, from a full investigation into Renee Good’s shooting death and policy changes over law enforcement raids to the defunding of ICE operations and the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in what is fast becoming an inflection point.“The situation that took place in Minnesota is a complete and total disgrace,” House Democratic...

Anyone know of any fishing charters near Naples/Marco Island, preferably half day where you can keep the fish you catch? We will be driving down south for Mardi Gras next month and will end up in Naples FL. around 2/19-2/22 Would like to go on a fishing charter mostly for DH's entertainment. Possibly something that doesn't break the bank ($500 or less for half day)

I just wrote about some of the billionaires fleeing California to avoid the proposed "one time" wealth tax which would take 5% of everything they own. But the LA Times points out it's not just the very wealthy who are fleeing the state. Once again, California topped a list put together by U-Haul showing the most out-migration.U-Haul’s survey of the more than 2.5 million one-way trips using its vehicles in the U.S. last year showed that the gap between the number of people leaving and the number arriving was higher in California than in any other state.While the Golden State...

The House on Thursday failed to override two of President Trump's vetoes of bipartisan bills, with Republicans largely sticking by the president to uphold his decision to block the legislation. Both bills initially passed the House and Senate unanimously. Thursday's votes required a two-thirds majority to override the vetoes, but both fell significantly short. One of the pieces of legislation would have given the Miccosukee Tribe more control over a portion of the Florida Everglades, and the second would have funded a water pipeline in southeast Colorado. The president vetoed both in December. The vote to override Mr. Trump's veto...

In 1993, while on tour in Mexico with a Cuban ballet troupe, Cubans Ariel Serrano and his wife Wilmian Hernandez bought one-way tickets and boarded a plane to Miami... Nearly 32 years since that pivotal day—Serrano and Hernandez will again board a plane, their dreams having expanded infinitely beyond what they could ever have imagined. This time the destination is London, where they will sit in the plush scarlet seats at The Royal Opera House and watch their son Francisco, 28, a soloist with The Royal Ballet, perform his first lead role The school they initially established to train their...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida has arrested more than 10,000 illegal immigrants since starting a state-wide crackdown last year. DeSantis made the announcement during a Monday news conference, declaring that “Operation Tidal Wave” led to the removal of 10,400 illegal immigrants from Florida since April 2025. “In April 2025, Florida partnered with federal law enforcement in the largest joint immigration enforcement operation in ICE’s history: Operation Tidal Wave,” DeSantis wrote on X. “Today, I was proud to announce a new milestone in our joint efforts to combat illegal immigration and restore order in our communities: Florida law enforcement...

A harrowing video showed a wild police chase after a routine traffic stop that led to the rescue of an alleged kidnapping victim and the arrest of his kidnapper in Florida. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said deputies pulled over a white Ford F-150 on U.S. Highway 1 on Wednesday after a 911 caller reported suspicious activity. They found a 60-year-old man identified as Darnell Hairston with two male juveniles. When deputies separated an 11-year-old boy, he told them he had been kidnapped by Hairston and feared for his life. "He told us that he thought they were going to...

Anyone else notice this in their local news coverage? Maybe I see it more because there is a large Hispanic and especially Venezuelan population in Miami. But the Venezuelan diaspora is VERY HAPPY with President Trump for booting Maduro. *THE MEDIA REFUSES TO REPORT THIS FACT* Instead, the "journalists" say stuff like "The Venezuelans have hope for the future of their homeland..." But nothing about how they praise Trump.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a South Florida Democrat with a sizable Venezuelan population in her district, bucked her party Saturday to praise President Donald Trump’s capture of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro. Wasserman Schultz said the U.S. military operation removing Maduro from power is “welcome news” for the millions of Venezuelans living in exile, though she argued Congress should have been informed. Conversely, a chorus of congressional Democrats immediately slammed the successful military operation as illegal and contrary to American interests. “The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuela’s people is welcome news for my...

Venezuelans around the world are celebrating the capture of President Nicolas Maduro after he was flown out of the country and indicted on drugs charges in the United States. More than eight million citizens have fled Venezuela since 2014 due to rampant violence, inflation, gang warfare and shortages of food and medicine. As a result, the country has been left facing one of the largest displacement crises in the world, according to the United Nations. So while Maduro's capture sent shockwaves around the world, jubilant Venezuelans spilled out onto the streets today to welcome the news with singing and dancing....

This is a link to the live presentation. The President is expected to speak soon.

In a troubling trend, police in Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, Arizona, and Louisiana have arrested a number of church leaders in separate cases for failing to report alleged child abuse. The wave of cases, which have arisen in the last month, raises questions about church and ministry accountability and their legal and moral obligations to protect children in their care, specifically by alerting civil authorities when leaders suspect abuse. This basic duty has been a fixture of American law for well over half a century. Since 1967, every state has enacted some form of mandatory child-abuse reporting law. But in nearly...

More than 20 years after it was on the other end of one of the biggest upsets in BCS history, Miami pulled off the biggest upset of the College Football Playoff era on New Year’s Eve. The No. 10 Hurricanes beat No. 2 Ohio State 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl to advance to the semifinal round of the playoff. Miami was a 9.5-point underdog at kickoff. Before Wednesday night, the biggest upset in playoff history — in either the four-team playoff or the current 12-team format — was Ohio State’s win over Alabama as a 7.5-point underdog on Jan. 1,...

Publix has long been considered Florida's favorite supermarket, but it seems customers are turning their backs on the grocery giant. One frustrated shopper recently took to Reddit to air their grievances after picking up a prime tenderloin steak at a Publix store in Yulee, Florida. A photo of the package showed the meat priced at a jaw-dropping $61.49 — or $49.99 per pound. 'This is criminal,' the customer wrote. 'You can get a full ribeye or tenderloin dinner with table bread, 2 sides and softdrinks in Florida at a Outback, texas roadhouse or Longhorn for $26 - $31,' one wrote....

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got her groove on to Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” during Wednesday night’s New Year’s Eve bash at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. In a video posted by Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the cabinet official — mocked by her critics as “ICE Barbie” — clapped her hands and danced to the Miami-based rapper’s signature 1990 hit. “ICE ICE Baby,” Katie Miller captioned the clip, which also included her husband stiffly bouncing along to the beat.

A nasty fight erupted outside of Miami International Airport on Monday as travelers were seen pulling each other's hair and dragging one another to the ground. The fight began just after 9 pm EST near the airport's lower-level doors 16 and 17, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. A video of the altercation went viral on social media, depicting the terrifying moments when two individuals began beating each other. As fists flew, others ran to join the fight. The brawl involved both men and women, as some attempted to de-escalate the violence. At one point, an individual was pulled by...