Sunrise

Gov. Ron DeSantis is the target of a new campaign to convince him to reverse course and allow Floridians to continue receiving federal unemployment benefits over the summer instead of cutting them off later this month.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— DeSantis and his business backers say cuts are necessary because unemployment benefits are so high that lazy people won't go back to work. But are they really?

— The Governor is calling BS on something completely different. He’s fuming over a letter from the Miami Beach Mayor who is asking the feds to reject the new Seminole Compact because it could bring casinos to the Trump Resort in Doral and the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach.

— Despite the Governor's claims, the Compact would indeed make it easier to bring two new casinos to Miami-Dade.

— DeSantis made remarks in South Florida, where he held two news conferences: One on Biscayne Bay; the other on snakes. Ron Bergeron of the state wildlife commission says it's time to sign up for the annual Everglades Python hunt. It begins July 9 and lasts for 10 days.

— Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell says he'll be running for the U.S. Senate in hopes of ousting incumbent Marco Rubio.

— And finally, stories of a Florida Woman whose daughter got hold of a marijuana gummy and a Florida Man who is lucky to be alive after a gator attack.

Florida’s $101.5 billion budget approved by state lawmakers gets the Governor's blessing.

Also on today’s Sunrise:

— Ron DeSantis held a news conference in New Smyrna Beach to sign the budget, doing again a couple of hours later in Zephyrhills. The Governor also vetoed more than 140 spending projects, including his own pet project: a billion-dollar fund using federal COVID-19 bucks to respond to future disasters and emergencies.

— We also heard the Governor's first official reaction to Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried's announcement that she will run for Governor.

— Despite DeSantis saying she “does nothing,” Fried does plenty, especially when she uses her Cabinet position to serve as the official burr under the Governor's butt. She's gotten under his skin on many occasions.

— Former Florida Senator and current NASA Administrator Bill Nelson delivers a "State of Space Agency" speech with a little help from William Shatner.

— In the aftermath of the 2020 election and the GOP campaign to limit voting, there's a new campaign in Florida to add the Fair Elections for Democracy Amendments to the state constitution that will make it easier to vote.

— Sean Shaw, founder of the group "People Over Profits,” talks about those three amendments on the Sunrise Interview.

— And finally, a Florida Man tried to avoid animal cruelty charges for killing an iguana by claiming he was standing his ground.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is running for Governor next year. Fried made the official announcement in a video on her Twitter feed.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Tuesday was the start of Pride Months for the LGBTQ+ community. What better time for Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign the bill banning transgender kids from taking part in high school and college sports.

— Apparently, transgender kids are an ideology, not persons. The Governor also brought a woman from Connecticut to complain about transgender athletes because he couldn't find any evidence of the problem here.

— Florida ranks third in the nation for the number of military vets; many of them are dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s. There's no cure, but there is help. Veterans Affairs and the Alzheimer's Foundation have some tips for coping with dementia.

— And finally, a naked Florida Woman was rescued from an underground storm drain … again.

It’s the first day of the 2021 hurricane season. It could get just as nasty as last year, which set all sorts of records in the Atlantic basin.

Also on today’s Sunrise:

— The official prediction from the National Hurricane Center is similar to 2020, an above-normal number of storms. While we count on the Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service to give us adequate warnings when a storm heads this way, they rely on us to be prepared.

— One good thing about the new season: You can forget about storms named after letters in the Greek alphabet. Turns out there was confusion last year when storms were named Zeta, Eta and Theta.

— Speaking of confusion: There’s uncertainty in the cruise ship industry as they try to get back to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the vast majority of passengers and crew should be vaccinated before they set sail, but Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an edict that no one has to show proof of vaccination, and convinced the legislature to make that a law. The Governor also filed suit against the CDC to block any requirement for vaccine passports, so DeSantis is hoping they won't have to fine the cruise lines $5,000 per passenger.

— But even if he loses, DeSantis says he's not backing down on the fines for cruise ships that ask for proof of vaccination.

— Florida Man Matt Gaetz is at it again. The Panhandle Congressman suggests conservatives who oppose the liberals in Silicon Valley should do something about it … with guns.

— And finally, police are accusing a Florida Man of stealing ventilators that were supposed to be shipped to critical care patients in El Salvador last year.

Two tech groups have filed a federal lawsuit to try to derail Florida's new law that tries to punish Twitter, Facebook, and other tech giants for censoring hate speech and misinformation spread by (among others) the former President of the United States. Matt Scheers with the Computer and Communication Industry Association says it’s an unconstitutional law that should never take effect.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— They filed the legal challenge just three days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the tech bill.

— Hurricane season starts next week, but the tax break on hurricane supplies is already underway. This is your chance to buy emergency supplies without paying the usual sales tax.

— Scott Shalley with the Florida Retail Federation talks about the sales tax holiday.

— The Florida Supreme Court rejects a challenge to the state's medical marijuana law that limits who can get into the business. It's a win for the 22 companies that already have a license to do business in Florida; Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says it's bad news for patients who will face ever-higher prices.

— And finally, the stories of two Florida Men: One is charged with battering his daughter with a slice of pizza; the other almost killed himself when he tried to stick a pole into a parrot nest next to a hot power line.

Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran is celebrating the end of the school year at Baker County, the first district in Florida to reopen last August during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Gov. Ron DeSantis held his first news conference (and victory dance) of the day in Baker County, before moving on to Sarasota County to deliver the same message: Florida got in-person classes right and others got it wrong.

— The third news conference of the day was in Destin; at each stop, the Governor visited teachers who said they supported his decision to reopen schools to in-person learning last year.

— DeSantis posed for pictures at each stop with teachers holding a giant check for $1,000, the COVID-19 bonus for teachers and principals in the new state budget.

— The Governor is also defending his decision to slash unemployment benefits by more than half, saying there are plenty of jobs available.

— Sen. Rick Scott is attacking President Joe Biden, saying his free-spending ways are increasing inflation.

— And finally, a Florida teen is outraged that her cleavage was Photoshopped out of the high school yearbook photo.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran are asking the state Board of Education to adopt a new policy to whitewash American history by forbidding the teaching of “critical race theory.”

— DeSantis wants schools to stick with the approved version of history and penalize teachers and schools that don't toe the line.

— The number of new COVID-19 cases is way down, but the Florida Department of Health reported 81 new fatalities Tuesday.

— The COVID-19 crisis has decimated Florida's tourism industry, but Dana Young at VISIT FLORIDA says they're going to turn that around, thanks in part to a record-setting budget.

— VISIT FLORIDA will be trying to lure more international travelers by hosting marketing trips to Mexico and the United Kingdom over the summer.

— The COVID-19 crisis isn’t done yet, but Florida TaxWatch says we've already learned a lot, like the toll on our mental health. TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro talks about long-term changes in health care beyond the pandemic.

— And finally, police arrested a Florida Man for dropping a deuce outside a synagogue in Broward County.

Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity will no longer be taking part in the federal program that boosted the state’s unemployment checks by $300 per week. Gov. Ron DeSantis says that's going to end June 26.

Also on today’s Sunrise:

— DeSantis says the federal money was a lifeline when the economy shut down, but now the benefits are so high they encourage people to stay home instead of finding a job.

— The Governor signs a bill imposing new regulations on tech giants like Facebook and Twitter. This started after social media companies de-platformed Donald Trump for spreading lies and misinformation during the final days of his administration. Still, DeSantis claims social media censorship is the real threat.

— Under the new law, any Floridian can sue social media companies if de-platformed, censored, or shadowbanned.

— While DeSantis hasn't signed off on the new state budget yet, Florida TaxWatch is asking him to aim for more than $100 million in “turkeys” that have no business being in the budget.

— TaxWatch is also asking lawmakers to stop using a sprinkle list to add spending projects to the budget after the formal negotiations have been finished.

— Central Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy has decided she won't run against Sen. Marco Rubio next year. Murphy's announcement clears the path for Orlando Congresswoman Val Demings to run against Rubio next year, and Murphy appears to be targeting Sen. Rick Scott in 2024.

؅Now that the pandemic is killing fewer Americans and mask rules are relaxing, people are getting the urge to travel again. But the folks at VISIT FLORIDA say they're going to have to work hard to overcome all the negative publicity heaped on the Sunshine State during the pandemic.

— And finally, police are accusing a Florida Man of trying to hide cocaine where the sun doesn't shine. Too bad for him a deputy saw the whole thing.

Florida TaxWatch is releasing its annual list of legislative projects that somehow made their way into the new budget without following the usual procedure. It’s called the “Turkey List” and TaxWatch will be recommending that the Governor use his line-item veto power to hunt them down.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the bill creating three sales tax holidays over the next two months. Along with the usual tax breaks for hurricane supplies and back-to-school supplies, there's something new this year.

— “Freedom Week” includes the Fourth of July. The hurricane preparedness tax break starts Friday and just in time because there's already a storm out there before the official start of the season. Florida's new emergency management boss says this is becoming the rule rather than the exception.

— Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis says if you don't stock up during the tax holiday, you might regret it. We can always count on the CFO to get to the bottom line.

— Despite all the help wanted signs across the state, Florida's unemployment rate increased slightly in April to 4.8%. Florida added almost 17,000 new jobs in April, but the workforce grew by 73,000 as more people went looking for work ... so the jobless rate went up.

— The rise of social media and the decline of traditional media has created an entirely new world. Orlando Public Relations expert Alex Armentano calls this the age of misinformation and he says we don't seem to trust anyone anymore.

— Armentano shares three simple rules for countering misinformation and disinformation in the modern era.

— And finally, a Florida Man found more than a million dollars of cocaine floating in the Keys and a Florida Woman led deputies and troopers on a high-speed chase in a stolen Caddy — while naked.

We're finally getting a break from the Legislature … but not the pandemic.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Florida's death toll broke 37,000 Thursday, but the state's positivity rate was the lowest since October.

— Dr. Anthony Fauci appears in a “Fireside Chat” with U.S. Southern Command and Florida International University to offer a three-point plan for getting COVID-19 under control.

— Fauci says we need to do a better job convincing people to get vaccinated; a new report says people who live in Florida counties that voted for Donald Trump are less likely to get a shot.

— The Biden Bucks from the American Rescue Plan is starting to go to local governments across the state … no thanks to the GOP.

— But Republicans in Tallahassee had no problem using that money to fund the largest budget in Florida history.

— An urban farm in St. Petersburg is trying to change the face of Florida agriculture with vertical farming in converted shipping containers. It's called Brick Street Farms.

— A Central Florida Judge will have to make the trek to Tallahassee for a public reprimand because he tried to talk an attorney out of running against one of his fellow judges. That's against their code of conduct.

— And finally, police are accusing a Florida Man of shooting at another driver because the guy threw a banana at his truck. Will he claim he was standing his ground?