Florida teens can legally carry guns.
Florida 18-year-olds can now carry guns. A nearly 40-year-old law banned the practice. A Florida appeals court ruled that a state law is unconstitutional, and Attorney General James Uthmeier declined to defend it. So 18 to 20 year olds can now carry concealed weapons. The law was originally enacted after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Over $100 million of toilets.
The detainees may have been moved out of Alligator Alcatraz, but the state still owes over $600 million to contractors. Twenty seven companies helped to build and maintain the immigration detention center in the Everglades. A review of dozens of contracts show the majority of bills remain unpaid — even after the DeSantis administration’s emergency managers spent half a billion dollars on vendors and other immigration costs. Among the largest looming bills are a $122 million to a portable toilet company, $79 million to a detention center operator, and $65 million to a security contractor.
Social media firing spurs 2nd lawsuit.
A second former Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission employee is suing the agency over a free speech violation. Haley Massung was fired after commenting on a social media post about the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. This follows a previous lawsuit where the agency paid nearly half a million dollars to another employee fired over a similar post. Massung was fired Sept. 18 for a social media comment she made on a private, invite-only Facebook group.
Don’t touch the tegus.
An invasive lizard, the Argentine black and white tegu that can grow up to 5 feet in length, is being sighted in Brevard County. Tegus have been seen in Viera, Palm Bay, Merritt Island and near Lake Poinsette west of Cocoa. Officials warn the nonnative reptile threatens local wildlife by eating eggs, small animals, and plants. You’re advised to report sightings to wildlife authorities and not attempt to capture the lizards yourself.
In related news, black bears are bouncing back in Brevard. A least one mama bear found her way to Fox Lake Sanctuary in Titusville. Due to loss of habitat and hunting, the black bear population dipped to as low as 300 bears statewide in the 1970s. Now estimates of black bears top 4,000.
Research funding cuts nationwide.
Cuts to research funding adversely affect the future of many fields. WFIT’s Terri Wright explains.
Research funding in the U.S. has been cut dramatically under the Trump Administration. As of November 2025, the National Institutes of Health saw about $2.3 billion in grants frozen or terminated. The National Science Foundation saw $700 million in funds cut, according to Science News. MIT President Sally Kornbluth explains why research is critical.
“Anything that you see as part of your everyday modern life that has any sort of scientific or technological bent began as basic research, just scientists trying to understand. And almost all of that research in this country is done in universities.”
Research has fueled medical advances, touch-screen technology, weaponry, even the GPS we all use to find our way. And all these advances take time and funding, much of which has been cut.
