Central Florida sheriffs and Senator Rick Scott discuss fentanyl crisis
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Central Florida deputies and U.S. Senator Rick Scott met in Volusia County to discuss the fentanyl crisis. Flagler County is home to about 125,000 residents, but Sheriff Rick Staly said the sheriff’s office seized enough fentanyl to kill all the people in the county and several more. Senator Rick Scott vowed Thursday to do whatever it takes to help law enforcement stop the fentanyl from making its way to Central Florida. Locally, sheriff’s offices said they would go full steam ahead in arresting those who bring the deadly narcotic to central Florida because too many people are dying, including youth.
wftv.comAnalysis: Biden, Zelenskyy try to keep Congress from balking
Zelenskyy, seated next to President Joe Biden in the Oval Office, with a fire crackling in the fireplace behind them, acknowledged that Ukraine was in its more favorable position because of the bipartisan support of the U.S. Congress. “I hope that we’ll continue to support Ukraine, but we got to explain what they’re doing all the time," said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. shortly before Zelenskyy landed in Washington on Wednesday afternoon. Pelosi and others compared Zelenskyy's visit to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's 1941 visit for talks with President Franklin D. Roosevelt following Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor. Some of the most right-leaning members of the Republican confernce have lashed at McConnell over his support of Ukraine. As the war in Ukraine has passed its 300th day, polling shows Americans have grown less concerned and less supportive of U.S. aid.
wftv.comImmigration advocates urge Florida’s senators to support, vote for Dream Act
With only three weeks left for the current congress to act, Central Florida immigration reform advocates, including faith leaders, urged Florida senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott Tuesday to act now for Dream Act legislation.
Senators call for end to non-disclosure agreements in military housing settlements
WASHINGTON D.C. — It’s a common practice used by private housing companies running homes on military bases around the country: requiring non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in order for a military family to accept a settlement offer, after the family raises concerns about housing problems. “They are providing unhealthy, substandard housing and they want to keep the military families that live in that housing from being able to talk about it. It’s something we need to address in the Armed Services Committee and I’m ready.”“For there to be non-disclosure agreements is absolutely unacceptable,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. VIDEO: Florida schools turning to military vets to fill teaching vacancies“Yes, the Department of Defense is aware that some settlement agreements between Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) projects and military members and their family members who reside in MHPI housing (i.e., Tenants) may include NDAs,” said Lt. Cmdr. Scott encouraged military families to speak up and contact their representatives if they do experience housing problems on base.
wftv.comSchumer reelected Senate leader after Dems expand majority
WASHINGTON — (AP) — Sen. Chuck Schumer was unanimously elected Thursday for another term as Senate Democratic leader, helming a bolstered 51-seat majority for a new era of divided government in Congress. Senate Democrats met behind closed doors at the Capitol to choose their leadership team for the new Congress that begins in January. As Senate majority leader, Schumer has proven to be a surprisingly steady, if frenzied, force amid one of the more consequential sessions of Congress. Senate Democrats are expected to fill out their leadership team with new and returning figures. Senate Republicans already chose their team, putting Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on track to become the longest serving party leader in the chamber.
wftv.comEmboldened Biden, Democrats keep pushing assault weapons ban
... We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off America’s streets.”Such a move is still far off in a closely divided Congress. But Biden and the Democrats have become increasingly emboldened in pushing for stronger gun controls — and doing so with no clear electoral consequences. The Democratic-led House passed legislation in July to revive a 1990s-era ban on assault weapons, with Biden's vocal support. And the president pushed the weapons ban nearly everywhere that he campaigned this year. About half of Republicans want gun laws left as they are and only one-quarter want to see gun laws be made less strict.
wftv.comEmboldened Biden, Dems push ban on so-called assault weapons
When President Joe Biden speaks about the “scourge” of gun violence, his go-to answer is to zero in on so-called assault weapons. America has heard it hundreds of times, including this week after shootings in Colorado and Virginia: The president wants to sign into law a ban on high-powered guns that have the capacity to kill many people very quickly. “I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons.”
news.yahoo.comGOP's lackluster fundraising spurs post-election infighting
The lackluster fundraising allowed Democrats to get their message out to voters early and unchallenged, while GOP contenders lacked the resources to do the same. In Arizona, Masters was outraised nearly 8-to-1 by Kelly, who poured at least $32 million into TV advertising from August until Election Day, records show. That same advantage doesn't apply to super PACs, which Republican candidates relied on to close their fundraising gap — often at a premium. In Las Vegas, for example, a candidate could buy a unit of TV advertising for $598, according to advertising figures provided to the AP. In an at-times heated Senate GOP lunch at the Capitol last week, Maine Sen. Susan Collins questioned Scott's management of the NRSC.
wftv.comGOP's lackluster fundraising spurs post-election infighting
Trailing badly in his Arizona Senate race as votes poured in, Republican Blake Masters went on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program and assigned blame to one person: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Masters not only lost his race against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
news.yahoo.comMcConnell reelected Senate GOP leader; Scott's bid rejected
WASHINGTON — (AP) — Sen. Mitch McConnell was reelected as Republican leader Wednesday, quashing a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the Senate GOP campaign chief criticized over his party's midterm election failures. Senators first rejected an attempt by McConnell's detractors to delay the leadership choice until after the Senate runoff election in Georgia next month. Walker was eligible to vote in the leadership election but wasn't expected to be present. No more than 10 Republican senators, among some of the most conservative figures and those aligned with Trump, were expected to join in the revolt. Scott and McConnell traded what colleagues said were “candid” and “lively” barbs during a lengthy private GOP senators lunch Tuesday that dragged for several hours.
wftv.comFlorida’s Scott takes on McConnell in bid for Senate leader
It escalated a long-simmering feud between Scott, who led the Senate Republican’s campaign arm this year, and McConnell over the party’s approach to reclaiming a Senate majority. Restive conservatives in the chamber have lashed out at McConnell’s handling of the election, as well as his iron grip over the Senate Republican caucus. Operatives for the two men have traded barbs for more than a year over the handling of Senate Republican political strategy — or, in the view of some, the lack thereof. In August, McConnell undercut Scott during a Senate GOP lunch. For some Senate Republicans, however, the feud is irrelevant to their decision to support Scott.
wftv.comFlorida's Scott takes on McConnell in bid for Senate leader
The announcement by Scott, who was urged to challenge McConnell by Trump, came hours before the former president was expected to launch a comeback bid for the White House. It escalated a long-simmering feud between Scott, who led the Senate Republican's campaign arm this year, and McConnell over the party's approach to reclaiming a Senate majority. Restive conservatives in the chamber have lashed out at McConnell's handling of the election, as well as his iron grip over the Senate Republican caucus. Operatives for the two men have traded barbs for more than a year over the handling of Senate Republican political strategy — or, in the view of some, the lack thereof. In August, McConnell undercut Scott during a Senate GOP lunch.
wftv.comHouse Republicans nominate Kevin McCarthy as speaker; Senate GOP leadership faces a shakeup
House Republicans nominated Representative Kevin McCarthy to be the next House Speaker should their party win control. In the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is facing a challenge from Florida Senator Rick Scott. CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane joins "Red and Blue" to break it all down.
news.yahoo.comGOP Sen. Scott mounts long-shot bid to unseat McConnell
WASHINGTON — (AP) — Florida Sen. Rick Scott is mounting a long-shot bid to unseat Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a rare challenge for the longtime GOP stalwart after his party failed to win back the majority in the midterm elections. The Kentucky senator, who has been Senate GOP leader for the last 15 years, was confident he had the backing to return for another Congress. But most appeared to be sticking with McConnell, a master of Senate procedure who has made protecting his incumbent senators his top priority. Speculating before Scott announced his bid, Cramer said the “obvious problem” is that Scott led the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party's Senate campaign arm. Operatives for the two have traded barbs for more than a year over the handling of Senate Republican political strategy — or, in the view of some, the lack thereof.
wftv.comBy boat and jet ski, volunteers assist in Hurricane Ian rescue efforts
As authorities in Florida try to reach people who have been trapped by floodwaters or isolated on barrier islands since Hurricane Ian came ashore last week, concerned members of the public have been springing into action to aid the official rescue efforts.
Nazis show up outside Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa
A Holocaust center in Florida and others condemned the presence of protesters holding Nazi flags and posters with antisemitic imagery outside a convention of young conservative activists that drew as speakers President Donald Trump, Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis and several Republican U.S. senators.
Florida lawmakers introduce bill to address baby formula shortage
Several U.S. senators introduced a new bill Monday called the “Urgently Feeding America’s Babies Act,” which would direct President Joe Biden and his administration to invoke the Defense Production Act in response to the ongoing baby formula shortage.