63º

WEATHER ALERT

JEB BUSH

Texas primary is George P. Bush's biggest test yet in GOP

Election 2022 Texas Bush FILE - Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush speaks at a kick-off rally where he announced he will run for Texas Attorney General, June 2, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (Eric Gay)LAKEWAY, Texas — (AP) — Fighting to stay in office, George P. Bush — the last of the Bush family still on the ballot — greeted a small outdoor crowd at an Austin brewery sounding like most Republicans running in Texas' primary Tuesday. Brown has been a donor to both Paxton and George P. Bush and said he considers Paxton a friend, having hosted dinners for the attorney general at his home in Virginia. George W. Bush, the former president and Texas governor, donated $100,000 in the final weeks and Jeb Bush chipped in $25,000. George P. Bush said he talks strategy with his uncle and didn't rule out having his family campaign for him in a runoff.

wftv.com

Who is Justice James E.C. Perry, the namesake of Seminole County’s new courthouse annex?

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A native of New Bern, North Carolina, James E.C. Perry graduated from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, N.C. in 1966 before joining the U.S. Army. After completing his military service, Perry went on to attend Columbia Law School and graduated with his law degree in 1972, specializing in civil and business law. Perry and his wife, Dr. Adrienne M. Perry, still live in Seminole County where they raised their three children. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 10 Justice James E.C.

wftv.com

Senate leader, presidential candidate Bob Dole dies at 98

(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File) (CHRIS O'MEARA)TOPEKA, Kan. — (AP) — Bob Dole, who overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol and celebrant of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans, has died. He served served as a committee chairman, majority leader and minority leader in the Senate during the 1980s and ’90s. Elizabeth Dole ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, then served a term as senator from North Carolina. The Dole Institute of Politics on the University of Kansas keeps an archive of World War II veterans from Kansas. ___Online:National World War II Memorial: http://www.wwiimemorial.comVideo of the WWII memorial is available at: http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/interactives/wwii_memorial/ index.htmlCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

wftv.com

Iowa again a battleground, sign of Trump's Midwest obstacles

But there are signs Iowa may be competitive again. Deep concerns about the economy and dissatisfaction with Trump's handling of the coronavirus have changed dynamics of the race. However, Iowa, where Trump won by 9.4 percentage points in 2016, echoes the trend in Ohio, where Trump won by 8 but is now in a pitched battle with Biden. “I believe it is a close race in Iowa," former Iowa Gov. In 2018, Democrats showed signs of resurgence, even though Republican Kim Reynolds became the first woman to be elected Iowa governor.

Chipping in? Trump may put up his own cash on reelection

Trump also is grappling with the political fallout from the mounting number of coronavirus deaths and the pandemic's economic toll. Trump spent more than $60 million of his own money on his 2016 run for the White House. Eberhart said he was skeptical that Trump will spend $100 million of his own money and questioned whether money was significantly hampering the presidents campaign. He echoed the president in saying that the Trump campaign, which was outspent in 2016, has more resources to use between now and Election Day than it did four years ago. Still, Trump added in his comments to reporters that he was prepared to spend his own cash to help his cause.

Trump embraces immigration court fight as election boost

In this June 11, 2020 photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion about "Transition to Greatness: Restoring, Rebuilding, and Renewing," at Gateway Church Dallas in Dallas. Trump has asserted without evidence that expanded mail-in voting will lead to the greatest Rigged Election in history. Trump, who often attempts to shift the nation's focus to immigration when forced to defend himself on other fronts, said Friday he would renew his legal effort. His immigration push is risky, even for someone who has built his political career on defying conventional wisdom. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh says, Conservative judges were a huge issue in 2016 and will be again this November."

GOP candidates balance pros, cons of running with Trump

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, facing a competitive North Carolina reelection contest, is looking forward to campaigning" with Trump, Tillis' spokesperson said. GOP Sen. Steve Daines tweeted, Montana cant wait to have you back, Mr. President! after Trump promised to help him battle a strong Democratic challenger. Republican candidates are hostages, said Trump critic Tim Miller, an aide to past GOP presidential contenders including Jeb Bush. Anyone who wants to win in November should be running with the president, said Trump campaign spokesperson Erin Perrine. In the House, Democrats hope to use allegiance to Trump that GOP candidates touted in primaries against them in general elections.

Biden aims to move left without abandoning centrist roots

But they left many of the partys strongest liberals worried that little progress would be made toward their sweeping goals. Asked whether his recent moves mean hell govern as a progressive, Biden retorted on CNBC: Im going to be Joe Biden. Biden aides say hes uniquely positioned for a wide Biden coalition because voters prioritize experience and temperament, along with policy. Republicans who dislike Trump the kind who cut deals with Sen. Biden or Vice President Biden arent likely to back President Biden's proposed public option health insurance expansion when theyve never embraced the Affordable Care Act. Winning back just that cohort back could be enough to secure Biden to the presidency alone this cycle, he said.

Florida deadline to register to vote, switch parties nears

ORLANDO, Fla. – Eligible Florida voters have only a few days left to register or switch their party affiliation if they want to vote in the March 17 Democratic presidential primary. Florida has closed primaries, which means anyone not registered as a Democrat by Tuesday will be unable to vote to choose the party’s nominee. Early voting begins at the beginning of March and lasts through the weekend before the primary. In 2016, former Florida governor Jeb Bush was running for the Republican nomination. The former Florida governor dropped out of the race two weeks before his home state’s primary, but 43,511 people wound up voting for him.

Fifth Third Bank reverses course on voucher program to anti-LGBTQ private schools

click to enlarge Image via Google MapsFifth Third Bank said Friday it will resume contributions to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, reversing course after saying it would stop contributing over concerns about vouchers going to schools with anti-LGBTQ policies.The bank said it can support the program again, following a comprehensive review of the program and detailed conversations with management at AAA Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit organization that administers part of the program.The banks initial decision to end contributions came after aninvestigation found more than 83 religious schools that accepted vouchers for low-income students had policies explicitly barring gay students from enrolling.More than $105 million from the program, which is funded by corporations that receive state tax credits in exchange for their contributions, went to campuses with anti-LGBTQ policies last year, the Sentinels report found.Fifth Third and other businesses that halted contributions after the report have faced fierce backlash from some Florida lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, former Gov. Jeb Bush and religious leaders. School-choice advocates argued corporations were hurting low-income students, including many who are black or Hispanic, by stopping donations to the program. But state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, and Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, argued no private school that receives the scholarships should be allowed to single out and discriminate against gay students in school policies.Fifth Third said it can support the program again, while adhering to its core values, because AAA agreed to develop a roadmap to help parents navigate the school selection and application process. That would entail helping parents identify school-specific information or policies at the schools they choose for their children, the bank said in a statement.Incoming House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor applauded Fifth Third for coming back to the table, listening to all voices and working through concerns. This decision means that thousands of underprivileged, minority students will not have to give up their dream of a better future, Sprowls tweeted on Friday.

orlandoweekly.com

A decade of mass shootings in Florida

For Florida, 2010s also included two headline-grabbing murder trials, and a devastating hit in 2018 from Hurricane MichaelFORT LAUDERDALE For Florida, the 2010s were a decade of high-profile mass shootings: at a nightclub, a high school, an airport and a naval base plus two headline-grabbing murder trials that ended in acquittals. Meanwhile, in politics, Rick Scott began 2010 as a near-unknown, was elected governor 11 months later and eventually defeated U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. MASS SHOOTINGSFour times Florida found itself in the 2010s dealing with a high-profile mass shooting, leaving 74 victims dead, changes to its gun laws and a group of motivated young survivors who pushed their message nationally. Scott won and narrowly defeated Democrat Alex Sink in the general election, spending $75 million of his own money. In 2018, Scott challenged Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who was seeking a fourth term.

ocala.com

Oil legend T. Boone Pickens dies

(CNN) - Legendary oil man T. Boone Pickens, whose investments helped shape the American energy industry going back to the 1950s, has died at the age of 91. Pickens announced his retirement from the oil and gas industry in January 2018 due to his poor health. A longtime maverick in the US energy industry, Pickens began a campaign in 2008 to help the US lessen its dependence on oil from OPEC nations. I have always believed that maintaining the status quo inevitably leads to failure," Pickens wrote in an op-ed for Forbes in 2017. "Back then, the notion that shareholders own the companies and managements were employees was foreign to big oil companies that would rather operate like empires.

Trump's campaign offered 10 plastic straws for $15 because 'liberal paper straws don't work' and they just sold out

Now, there's Trump Straws. President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is selling 10-packs of branded plastic straws for $15. Because "liberal paper straws don't work," the president's online campaign store asserts. Trump, asked at the White House on Friday if he was in favor of banning plastic straws, said, "I do think we have bigger problems than plastic straws." Some large corporations, such as Starbucks, have even vowed to stop offering plastic straws in all their stores.

cnbc.com

Ted Cruz defends proposal to patrol Muslim communities

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz picked up an important endorsement from his former rival, Jeb Bush. He is also celebrating a win in Utah's caucuses. But Cruz is facing a backlash over his proposal to target Muslim Americans after the Brussels attacks. On Tuesday after the bombings, he said, "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." Cruz joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss why he is proposing the policy.

cbsnews.com