There will be no US Senator Trump.
Republicans were promoting President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to replace Marco Rubio as a US Senator from Florida. Rubio has been tapped as Secretary of State for the incoming administration. His successor will be chosen by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appeared reluctant to name a Trump as Senator. This weekend Lara Trump removed herself from consideration.
US House releases report on Matt Gaetz.
A House ethics panel in Washington found "substantial evidence" that former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl, used illegal drugs and paid thousands of dollars to women. The report says most of Gaetz's alleged sex-for-money encounters occurred in Florida, particularly around Orlando, where several of the women were students. Gaetz, a Panhandle Republican, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has never been charged criminally.
State of Florida rebuffed in Manatee lawsuit.
A federal judge has stopped a state attempt to end a lawsuit stemming from manatee deaths in the Indian River Lagoon. US District Judge Carlos Mendoza said a trial is needed to determine whether the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has violated the endangered species act.
Over half of Florida hurricane insurance claims rejected.
It’s been over two months since Florida was struck back-to-back by hurricanes, and over half of the closed home insurance claims from the storms have been rejected. According to the data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, as of Dec. 18, just over half of closed claims from Milton had ended with payments. Meanwhile, figures from Dec. 16 reveal that only around 37% of closed claims from Helene had actually paid out. However, not all home insurance claims have been processed yet. In fact, just under 80% of these claims have been closed between both Helene and Milton. State figures show that homeowners have incurred total losses of over $5.7 billion.
Florida snubbed in list of retirement cities.
Florida was snubbed in a recent list of places to retire based on safety and wealth of the community. In fact, no Florida city made it into the top 30. The study by GoBankingRates used several factors to assign a ranking, including violent crime rate per 1,000 residents and the average income for retired households. Oro Valley, Arizona, ranked as the safest and wealthiest U.S. retirement town. Florida did dominate another GoBankingRates list, with 24 Florida cities making the top 50 of most expensive retirement towns. At least no Florida city was in the top 10. Merritt Island ranked as the 32nd most expensive retirement town in the country.
Christmas weather.
Here’s your weather forecast for Christmas day. It will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. There’s a 20 percent chance of showers after 1PM. Wind will be from the northeast around 10 mph.
