NASA says it's “more than ready” for Artemis II launch.
NASA is optimistic it can launch the Artemis II mission this Wednesday. The agency says it’s “more than ready” to send four astronauts around the moon. At a news conference yesterday NASA’s Lori Glaze said teams are not working any issues:
"Our flight systems are ready. The ground systems are ready. Our launch and operations teams are ready. And our flight operations team in Houston (is) also ready”
The 45th Weather Squadron predicts an 80% chance of favorable weather. The two hour launch window opens at 6:24PM Wednesday, with backup opportunities available for the next few days.
Upon arrival at Kennedy Space Center, Mission Commander Reid Wiseman acknowledged that Artemis is the first time since the Apollo era that humans have headed toward the moon:
“I think the nation and the world have been waiting for a long time to do this again. And on behalf of Victor, Christina and Jeremy, we are really pumped to go do this. It’s been a lot of work. It’s been a great journey, it’s great to be down here in the Florida warm air, the vehicle looked amazing on the pad on the way in.”
It’s only the second time that NASA’s SLS rocket has flown, so the Artemis mission does have some risk:
"If you're going to do things that are right on the edge of the human experience, sometimes they have extreme risk."
That’s former Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, spoking about the upcoming mission on the Florida Roundup.
Florida’s elected prosecutors oppose arming felons.
The Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association is rebelling against Attorney General James Uthmeier’s push to arm non-dangerous felons. The organization has filed a court brief accusing Uthmeier of using “strained logic” to justify his decision to try to reverse a long-standing state law that denies gun ownership to anyone convicted of a felony. Of the state’s 20 elected prosecutors, 15 are Republicans, like Uthmeier.
Florida removes sociology from core curriculum.
Florida’s conflict over sociology is intensifying. Critics say stripping lessons on racial inequities, gender, and race is not just an escalation — it’s retaliation. WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
The State University System’s Board of Governors voted to bar introductory sociology courses from counting toward general education requirements for a bachelor’s degree, allowing them only as electives. The move is the latest step in Florida’s ongoing effort to reshape how universities address racial and social inequities, part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ broader campaign against what he calls “woke” ideology. To comply with state law, officials worked with small faculty groups to develop a new textbook aligned with Florida statutes. The revised sociology text cuts roughly 400 pages from the previous edition, removing chapters on topics such as global inequality, race, social stratification, gender and sexuality.
Professors say the changes amount to censorship of key ideas.
Population shifts in Florida.
New U.S. Census Bureau data revealed that the Orlando/Kissimmee/Sanford region is the fastest growing metro area in Florida. However, two of the state’s biggest counties — Miami-Dade and Pinellas — lost population last year. From 2024 to 2025, Brevard County grew by less than 10,000 residents.
