"Biden In New Video Thanks Legal Immigrants For ‘Choosing Us’ As He Loses Control Over Illegals Surging Southern Border" by The Floridian's Mona Salama

“Trump Refutes ‘Failing’ NY Times ‘Misleading’ Report On Recurring Campaign Donors Seeking Refunds” by The Floridian’s Mona Salama – Former President Trump ripped into the latest “failing” New York Times for its “completely misleading” investigation hit-piece on Monday regarding his campaign issuing millions in refunds to donors who claimed they unwittingly signed up to be recurring donors, saying the “dispute rate” was less than 1 percent while adding that Republicans defeated the “cheating Democrats” at their own fundraising game. In an emailed statement from his Save America PAC, Trump slammed the newspaper for seeking to “disparage” his campaign’s grassroots financial support. “In yet another highly partisan story, the failing New York Times wrote a completely misleading, one-sided attack piece this weekend that tried to disparage our record-setting grassroots fundraising operation during the 2020 campaign,” Trump said. “Except for massive voter fraud, this was a campaign that was easily won by your favorite Republican President, me!” Trump added. “Our support in 2020 was so big—never before seen (received more votes than any sitting President in history, by far), that it has become a major threat to the Democrat Party, which explains why the New York Times immediately rushed to defend their Radical Left allies.”

“60 Minutes Pushes Vaccination Fake News Against Palm Beach” by The Floridian’s Jim McCool – Florida’s vaccine plan has made nationwide headlines recently after Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) officially did away with vaccine passports. However, Democrat-run Palm Beach County was the subject of a 60 minutes interview that blasted their handling of the vaccine distribution and Gov. DeSantis vaccine roll-out effort, calling it ‘pay-to-play.’ Palm Beach Mayor Dave Kerner (D) responded in a statement claiming that the reporting was based on, “bad information”, adding, “It was intentionally false.” Palm Beach County has actually talked about expanding their max vaccination centers, with bipartisan support. However, Kerner feels that 60 minutes decided to ignore this in order to stay consistent with their narrative. Mayor Kerner stated: “We have confronted this pandemic for over a year. Our residents, like all Americans, are tired. And the media is making it worse. They are hellbent on dividing us for cheap views and clicks. 60 Minutes should be ashamed.” Since its release, the 60 minutes segment has gained tons of traction on Twitter from Democrats and DeSantis detractors, but the narrative the program set out there has now been debunked.

“Rubio Slams MLB Commissioner Over Georgia Boycott While Working With China” by The Floridian’s Mona Salama – Sen. Marco Rubio penned a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Monday questioning if he would “end its engagement” with countries that do not hold democratic elections in the wake of the league’s decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia’s new GOP-led voting law. “I write to ask you whether you intend to maintain your membership at Augusta National Golf Club. As you are well aware, the exclusive members-only club is located in the State of Georgia,” Rubio wrote in a letter to Manfred. “It is a decision that will have a bigger impact on countless small and minority-owned businesses in and around Atlanta than the new election law ever will.” Rubio slammed the head of MLB for its decision on “the basis of false information,” referring to the growing chorus of mass hysteria from Democrats who decided to negatively portray the Georgia law as a “voter suppression” bill, and “Jim Crow 2.0.” On Friday, MLB announced it yanked the July 13 “Midsummer Classic” out of Atlanta — just two days after President Biden urged the boycott because the league “fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions at the ballot box.”

“Matt Gaetz: ‘Washington scandal cycles are predictable, and sex is especially potent in politics’” by Rep. Matt Gaetz – Washington scandal cycles are predictable, and sex is especially potent in politics. Let me first remind everyone that I am a representative in Congress, not a monk, and certainly not a criminal. Nancy Pelosi once defended President Bill Clinton after he got an intern to fellate him in the Oval Office. But when it comes to the allegation that I, a grown man, paid for an adult girlfriend’s expenses? Well, consider that a bridge too far for the power-hungry hypocrites. I want to be clear about something as we process the leaks and lies from the past week. To this point, there are exactly zero credible (or even non-credible) accusers willing to come forward by name and state on the public record that I behaved improperly toward them, in the manner by which Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ten accusers. Instead, CNN, the New York Times, Politico, and others are just repeating false allegations about a congressman who loathes the swamp and fights both sides of it on a daily basis. Just as they once falsely attacked President Donald Trump as a Russian asset, Justice Brett Kavanaugh as a gang rapist, and even John McCain as having fathered a child out of wedlock, they now attack me. Of course, none of what they say ever amounts to anything, yet it is endlessly repeated by leftist television anchors such as Chris Cuomo, who uses his platform to cover for his brother’s appalling subjection of nursing home patients to death by the coronavirus. They think themselves such wonderful arbiters of moral purpose.

“Florida University Teaches Students Using Anti-Semitic Textbook” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – According to the Miami Herald, in 2015 Florida International University (FIU) was ranked #14 in the nation with the amount of attending Jewish-American students (3,500) it had enrolled. But now some of those students, who signed up to take Professor Ronald Morales’s “Terrorism and Homeland Security” course are saying that the last thing they expected was to be subjected to reading anti-Semitic propaganda as part of their education. This course is required for students seeking a Criminal Justice degree. Several of Professor Morales’s students reached out to The Floridian last week to inform us about their assignment that asked them to “discuss the Zionist terrorist organizations that have existed in Israel.” The Assignment:

“Discuss the Zionist terrorist organizations that have existed in Israel. Looking at some of the prominent Middle Eastern terrorist groups discussed in this chapter, what are some of the techniques used by terrorist organizations to increase recognition, support, and power? What external forces discussed in previous chapters multiplied the strength of these terrorist organizations? Do you think it is possible to bring religious extremism to an end?” Fair enough question, right? The problem lies in the textbook the university has authorized Morales to use for instruction, and what students are taking away from the reading.

“Mast Calls for Eliminating Okeechobee Lake Discharges” by The Floridian’s Daniel Molina – Environmental concerns continue to affect the Sunshine State as Florida combats the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) addressed that he is working diligently to prevent a “real catastrophic flood situation” in the Piney Point reservoir area in Tampa. Also, Florida lawmakers are asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to eliminate regulatory discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie as part of the Lake Okeechobee System Manual. State Senator Gayle Harrell (R) and State Rep. Toby Overdorf (R) joined Rep. Brian Mast (R) in making the call, noting that “the modeling presented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District over the last several months proves that it is possible to eliminate discharges in the operational band while also benefitting performance for water supply and the other Congressionally-authorized project purposes.” In a statement, Mast argued that “the Army Corps has determined that discharges from Lake Okeechobee to St. Lucie are unnecessary for flood control and that eliminating these discharges can actually be beneficial to water supply, the environment, and more.” “The Army. Corps must not settle for incremental progress but rather should take the bold action needed to protect Floridians and stop government-sanctioned poisoning.”

“Hunter Biden Says Trump Used His Position On Burisma In ‘Illegitimate Way’ During 2020 Election” by The Floridian’s Mona Salama – Hunter Biden said he doesn’t regret putting a “big bullseye” that could have put his father, President Biden’s political future at risk while defending his decision serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, sorting to blame former President Donald Trump for using his business dealing as a weapon in an “illegitimate way” to initiate the series of political attacks. Speaking in a new interview with “CBS This Morning” that aired Monday morning to promote his new memoir, “Beautiful Things,” Hunter claimed he wasn’t aware when asked by host Anthony Mason about whether his business dealings ever crossed a line. “You grew up in politics. Did you not think you might be putting a big bullseye on yourself?” Mason asked. “I didn’t fully comprehend the level to which this former administration and the people around it would go. The difference between the politics that you’re talking about in terms of the last four years is a very different game,” Hunter said. “And I don’t ever want to again to hand a weapon to people that would use it in an illegitimate way that they use the weaponry against my dad.” Hunter served on the board of Burisma Holdings, one of the largest private natural gas producers in Ukraine, which paid him $50,000 a month back in 2014 — the same time his father was serving as vice president in the Obama administration and was overseeing U.S policy in Ukraine.

“Rep. Salzman hopes to loosen restrictions for Florida at-home food businesses” by WEAR TV’s Jennifer Munoz – Florida House Bill 663 on cottage food operations is heading to the Senate. The bill sponsored by Northwest Florida Representative Michelle Salzman passed the house last week. She hopes this will help local small cottage food businesses grow. Kimberly Simpson runs her custom cookies business Kookie Kraze right out of her kitchen at home in Pensacola. She's able to sell her homemade cookies using Florida Cottage Food Laws. Under the current law, certain foods can be cooked at home and sold as long as they follow certain requirements for production, labeling, and storage. Representative Salzman said HB 663 will hopefully help make it easier for people like Simpson to run their food business from home. “The Home Sweet Home Act basically removes some of the regulations, some of the barricades for just the regular person that really wants to try something new," said Salzman. If passed, cottage food businesses would now be allowed to ship their products, Simpson said this would help her business reach people outside of Northwest Florida.

“Disney Supported Florida Politicians Who Are Now Sponsoring Restrictive Voting Bills” by WDWNT – Justin Giglio – According to CNBC, Disney is one of several corporations being scrutinized for donating funds to politicians who are now backing laws that are more restrictive towards voting. Disney has contributed more than $8,000 to the campaigns of three Florida lawmakers who are now sponsoring bills that would restrict voting access. Florida is one of several states who are making a push for new voting laws to be put in place following the 2020 election, which saw Joe Biden defeat President Donald Trump. Trump postured that voter fraud was the cause of his loss, which has seemingly spurred bills like this into motion. Disney did not comment on whether or not it will continue to back these lawmakers or if it is planning to lobby against the bills. Each of bills contains potential hurdles for voters and election officials if they are passed into law. Since 2015, Disney has contributed $28,000 to various Florida state senators backing a bill that could suppress the vote according to The Public Citizen report. With these types of bills flowing through state legislatures across the country, critics say that corporations have to go further than putting out statements and hold back on campaign contributions. “Look at the deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, the refusal to accept the election results, followed by the legislation to restrict the ability to vote. That has really stirred up people,” said Bruce Freed, the president of the nonpartisan Center for Political Accountability, which tracks corporate money in politics. “Companies are ensnared in it because of the money they gave politically. They are seen as enabling it with their contributions.”

“Corporations gave over $50 million to voting restriction backers” by AP – When executives from Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines spoke out against Georgia’s new voting law as unduly restrictive last week, it seemed to signal a new activism springing from corporate America. But if leaders of the nation’s most prominent companies are going to reject lawmakers who support restrictive voting measures, they will have to abruptly reverse course. State legislators across the country who have pushed for new voting restrictions, and also seized on former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, have reaped more than $50 million in corporate donations in recent years, according to a new report by Public Citizen, a Washington-based government watchdog group. Telecom giant AT&T was the most prolific, donating over $800,000 since 2015 to authors of proposed restrictions, cosponsors of such measures, or those who voted in favor of the bills, the report found. Other top donors during the same period include Comcast, Philip Morris USA, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, Verizon, General Motors and Pfizer. The money may not have been given with voting laws in mind, but it nonetheless helped cement Republican control in statehouses where many of the prohibitive measures are now moving forward. Whether companies continue to give to these lawmakers will test how far risk-adverse corporate leaders are willing to go in their increasingly forceful criticism of the restrictive efforts, which voting rights groups have excoriated as an attack on democracy.

“In Florida, School Vouchers Mean Big Bucks For One Organization” by Forbes’ Peter Greene – Florida leads the nation in school vouchers, including education savings accounts fueled by tax credit scholarships. In this mechanism, a wealthy company can skip paying state taxes by funding a school voucher program (Florida calls them “scholarships”). This system of replacing state-managed public education with a marketplace for private operators requires a middleman to manage the contributions coming in and the vouchers going out. In Florida there are two organizations that serve that purpose but one—Step Up For Students—handles 99% of the business. In March, the League of Women Voters of Florida released a preliminary report investigating the operations of Step Up For Students. What they found is a huge money management organization and marketing firm “operating as a charity.” The program has a broad scope. It was founded by venture capitalist John Kirtley in 2002, after then-Governor Jeb Bush established Florida’s first voucher program, and since then it has handled over a million scholarships. It currently has total net assets of over half a billion dollars. Around 1,800 private schools are involved in the program. Florida’s Department of Education has “outsourced” the oversight of vendors and voucher families to Step Up.

“Statewide testing begins in Florida schools with pandemic protocols in place” by News 4 Jax’ Joe McLean – The first of several rounds of statewide testing of Florida students began Monday, amid the lingering safety concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The Florida Department of Education is requiring all of the assessments to be administered in-person, to the concern of some parents and teachers, but also issued an emergency order which expanded the testing window by two weeks and allowed local districts to have some flexibility to make accommodations. The debate over how the annual assessments are handled has been the topic of debate since schools reopened for the fall 2020 semester, with some calling for full cancellation of the FSAs due to pandemic concerns. Others argued that the state should administer the exams, but only use their results as a measurement of student progress, and hold teachers, schools and district’s blameless for a projected dip in scores. In a March press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said he’s confident that testing students is safe. “The fact of the matter is, we’ve done millions of millions of tests all through the fall already,” Corcoran said. “We’ve proven it’s safe for those children to take that test, but for some reason, if there is a parent whose out there, again, we will be graceful and we will be compassionate, but we want them to understand that it is safe and -- to get that evaluation of their child and where they need to go after a year in the pandemic is overwhelmingly more important.”

“Now that every Florida adult is eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, who is getting them?” by WINK News – As of Monday, every adult in Florida is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. With the eligibility pool itself expanding, will demand be expanding as well? Based on the calls, emails, and messages on social media that WINK News is still receiving, there are still seniors who want to get the vaccine. More than 75% of Floridians aged 65 and older have already received at least one shot, compared to just 22% of those aged 16-64. Clearly, there are still many people who need vaccines, but here are many appointments available. An afternoon out on the town was once unthinkable during the pandemic but now it is possible. Jeff and Sue Bibby got their first doses of the vaccine in March. “It seemed that the process had changed; we expected a longer wait than what we had. It went very smoothly,” said Sue. They say their experience was much smoother than the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. Those who were signing up for vaccine appointment times in December and January experienced liens at walk-up sites stretching for miles, and online appointments were disappearing in minutes.

“Rapper Kodak Black target of early morning shooting in Florida: police” by NY Daily News’ David Matthews – Police in Tallahassee, Fla., are investigating an early morning shooting that reportedly targeted rapper Kodak Black and members of his entourage. According to WCTV, a local CBS affiliate, the shooting occurred around 3 a.m. Monday morning at a McDonald’s in the city’s Tally Strip area. A member of Kodak Black’s security team was seriously injured in the shooting, which followed the rapper’s appearance at “Cultur3 Fest featuring Kodak Black + Friends” and an “Official After Party” at Bajas Beachclub after the outdoor festival ended. The shooting occurred about 2 miles away from Bajas. It was not clear whether Kodak Black, who is from Broward County in Florida, and his team were headed to Bajas Beachclub or had already left. The Tallahassee Police Department did not release any other information regarding the shooting. The “ZEZE” and “Roll in Peace” rapper had earlier this year seen his prison sentence for gun charges commuted prior to former president Donald Trump’s last hours in office, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“Florida Coastal School of Law loses Title IV student loan eligibility” by News 4 Jax’s Kent Justice – It could be a temporary setback, or it could be a “death knell” as some has described it. Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville is scrambling to get federal financial aid reinstated for students. A spokesperson for the college on Monday confirmed the school learned Thursday that its Title IV student loan eligibility had been terminated, saying it’s the result of a new Department of Education policy. Peter Goplerud, a dean at the school, explained that the new process requires a signature from an investor in the for-profit school. That entity couldn’t sign and has now divested its interests. “We are working around the clock to get this matter straightened out and committed to and optimistic about the future of the law school,” Goplerud said. Attorney John Delaney, the former Jacksonville mayor and former president of the University of North Florida, is about to become the temporary president at Flagler College. He laid out the high stakes involved for Florida Coastal.

“Florida's Trump country stands with Gaetz” by Politico’s Gary Fineout – Most well-known Republicans are doing their best to avoid Matt Gaetz — but not conservatives in his ruby-red district in Florida’s Panhandle. As the embattled 38-year-old congressman denies sex trafficking allegations at the center of a still unwinding federal investigation, Republicans in the heart of Trump country are deeply suspicious of the accusations and still support him. “I believe this is nothing more than fake news,” said Larry Hetu, a Gulf Breeze activist who is part of a group trying to get a local bridge renamed after former President Donald Trump. “I don’t believe anything coming from the mainstream media. Rep. Gaetz has denied it all.” The allegations against Gaetz — violating federal sex-trafficking laws and having a relationship with a 17-year-old, among other things — would be enough to send most backers fleeing. But Gaetz hails from an influential Florida political family and is a staunch ally of Trump, which in this conservative stronghold counts for a lot. Gaetz has held this congressional seat for four years, and since that time has been a constant defender of Trump, which has helped fuel doubt over the torrent of negative media attention now showering down on Gaetz. As Gaetz vows not to resign, the support from his district signals that the embattled congressman could weather the scandal.

“No second breach at Florida toxic wastewater reservoir; work resumes to prevent collapse” by NBC’s David K. Li and Dohn Madani – Authorities said there was no second breach Monday at a toxic wastewater reservoir, allowing work to resume to prevent its total collapse in central Florida. A drone initially spotted the potential leak at 2 a.m. ET as engineers and crew work around the clock to pump wastewater into Tampa Bay from Piney Point Reservoir, about 40 miles south of Tampa, officials said. Crews found that fears of a second leak were unsubstantiated and determined the site was safe to continue work, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection said in a release Monday evening. "The department continues to monitor the one identified area where there is concentrated seepage," the release said. "The water from this seepage remains contained onsite in the site’s lined stormwater management." The possibility of a second leak found by the drone caused a temporary evacuation of engineers working at the site, Manatee County Public Safety Director Jacob Saur told reporters shortly after noon. "Seepage rates remained steady overnight" at Piney Point, Saur said, adding that engineers "are back out at the site now, and they're reassessing that." Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said that he appreciated the work being done to pump water out of harm's way but that he is still worried about a possible collapse.

Florida political news. Florida news.