Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced more than $38 million in awards to 19 small and rural communities in the Sunshine State through the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Since 2019, Florida has awarded more than $138 million to over 120 communities through this program.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier joined together Tuesday morning in St. Cloud to announce actions being taken against textbook companies that they say have "exploited Florida taxpayers." Uthmeier said his office has filed a lawsuit against McGraw Hill LLC and Savvas Learning Company LLC.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on Tuesday morning at Voyager K-8 in St. Cloud. Before he began speaking on his topic for the day, he touched upon Harjinder Singh, who will have a potential extradition hearing on Tuesday afternoon to be brought to Florida to face three vehicular manslaughter charges.

Florida's new immigration detention facility Deportation Depot is scheduled to open in North Florida in the next few weeks to expand Florida's capacity to detain and deport undocumented immigrants and allow the Governor Ron DeSantis administration to continue supporting President Donald Trump's illegal immigration enforcement and mass deportation policies. Legal questions surround Deportation Depot and Alligator Alcatraz, the Everglades immigration detention camp in South Florida regarding the state's authority to detain federal immigration detainees and recent changes to the state partnerships with ICE and Border Patrol, as well as blurred lines between whether the immigration detention facilities are the responsibility of state or federal officials. Elizabeth Ricci, immigration attorney and FSU adjunct professor joins FOX 35's Garrett Wymer to break down these legal questions, where the multiple lawsuits against Alligator Alcatraz may end up and that litigation's potential impacts on Deportation Depot and other immigration detention facilities across Florida and the United States.

FOX 35's John Brown and Garrett Wymer break down the top stories of the day, from Florida's Deportation Depot immigration detention facility in North Florida, the state attorney's office deciding not to press charges in the viral arrest of William McNeil in Jacksonville, 3 OUC employees injured in a substation incident in Downtown Orlando and a boat driver sentenced to jail for a Christmas boat parade crash.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced his plans to expand the state's capacity to detain and deport undocumented immigrants through a new "Deportation Depot." DeSantis said he's confident Florida needs additional capacity to host undocumented immigrants in addition to "Alligator Alcatraz" in South Florida. The new "Deportation Depot" will be able to hold more than 1,300 detainees with the same services offered as Alligator Alcatraz.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a press conference on Wednesday morning in Tampa. DeSantis was joined by newly appointed Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. At the event, DeSantis awarded law enforcement recruitment bonuses. The governor touted Florida?s recruitment of law enforcement officers from across the country, saying 8,700 bonuses have now been given out through the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program.

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed State Senator Jay Collins, a Republican formerly representing the Tampa Bay area as the next Lieutenant Governor, replacing Jeanette Nunez who left to become the President of FIU (Florida International University.) POLITICO Reporter Gary Fineout joins FOX 35's Garrett Wymer to break down the political ramifications of Collins' appointment and the potential for a head-to-head matchup with Trump-endorsed Congressman Byron Donalds and prominent attorney John Morgan for Florida Governor in 2026.