Sunrise

State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees is issuing an order saying anyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccination in Florida must prove they live in the state — a bit odd since last week his deputy told lawmakers those vaccines belong to the feds and states cannot discriminate based on residency.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Florida Department of Health officials are reporting 163 additional fatalities and almost 13,000 cases of COVID-19 Thursday, but the chair of the new Pandemic Committee in the Florida Senate says there won’t be any more lockdowns — no matter how bad it gets.

— The pandemic put a $3 billion hole in the state budget, but that hasn’t stopped the demand for new spending. Economic developers want lawmakers to set aside more money to lure businesses.

— Health care advocates also have an ask for lawmakers: They want better dental care for kids from low-income families.

— On the Sunrise Interview, Viviana Jordan of Airbnb. The Super Bowl is coming to Tampa in a couple of weeks and the home-sharing service is telling clients how to spot signs of human trafficking.

— And finally, a Florida Man says he wasn’t rioting at The Capitol; he just was looking for a bathroom. The feds aren’t buying it.

Republicans in control of Florida’s state government are dealing with a new reality in Washington: Donald Trump is out; Joe Biden is in.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Trump skipped the inauguration ceremonies and delivered farewell remarks to the crowd before leaving the White House.

— Trump spent his last moments as President in Palm Beach County, waving to his new neighbors from inside an armored Escalade after making the final flight on Air Force One.

— Florida Democrats didn’t have much to celebrate after the election because they lost seats in both Congress and the state Legislature, but they are happy now that Biden was sworn in.

— The new chair of the Florida Democratic Party is vowing to come up with some way to make his party relevant again.

— But, for the moment, Democrats like Sen. Gary Farmer of Broward are smiling. Or is that more like a grin?

— Coronavirus doesn’t care who’s in charge; it just keeps on killing. Florida added 145 fatalities and almost 12,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The virus has infected more than 1,600,000 Floridians since the pandemic began.

— And finally, a Florida Man who went to jail for trying to free the horses.

Sunrise takes a moment to honor the 400,000 Americans who died from COVID-19.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— The nation hit that grim milestone on Donald Trump’s last full day in office. Despite a shortage of vaccines, Gov. Ron DeSantis is expanding the number of places you can sign up for a shot by using Publix pharmacies to administer vaccinations.

— DeSantis held news conferences in Jupiter, Rockledge and Cape Coral to announce the Publix expansion. He also vowed to limit shots to people who actually live in Florida, while at the same time boasting that vaccine tourism only proves he’s doing something right.

— The environmental group One Thousand Friends of Florida reveals its agenda for the upcoming Legislative Session. They admit the budget shortfall created by the COVID-19 crisis will make it much harder to fund conservation programs.

— But the budget crisis could help environmentalists who are trying to derail M-CORES, the plan to build three new toll roads through some of the last undeveloped areas of Florida.

— On the Sunrise Soapbox, the Governor talks about one of his top priorities for the upcoming Session. DeSantis wants to take on the tech elites who slapped misinformation warnings on the President’s Twitter feed during the campaign and pulled the plug on his social media when he spread unfounded allegations of voter fraud. DeSantis says they interfered in the election by gagging conservatives.

— And finally, a Florida Man says he ignored the police officer chasing him because he had to get home to mom.

The whistleblower who made life so uncomfortable for the Governor has bonded out of jail. Rebekah Jones tweeted that the state is censoring the website until further notice where she’s been posting daily COVID-19 casualties.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— No holiday for COVID-19 casualties. The state reported 676 additional fatalities between Friday and Monday.  More than 2,600 Florida residents have died since January 1 — an average of 153 per day.

— Vaccinations have been underway for more than a month and Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s working to expand the number of facilities where you can get a shot. The problem is a shortage of vaccine.

— The Governor is counting on churches and Publix to speed up the vaccination process and he’ll announce more sites later this week.

— On Sunrise in-depth, you’ll hear from the chair of the Senate budget committee, who says this is going to be a difficult year because of the economic downturn from COVID-19. Kelli Stargel says M-CORES … billions of dollars to create three new toll roads … is on the chopping block.

— Stargel also says they’ll be looking for new revenue, which means revisiting the issue of collecting the sales tax on purchases made over the internet.

— The Senator says they can also find more money by increasing the cost of college tuition … which has been frozen for several years.

— And finally, an anti-masker Florida Woman thought she could not be jailed for refusing to wear one. She was wrong.

Florida is reporting 222 more fatalities from COVID-19 and almost 14,000 new cases of the disease. Hospitals are getting crowded.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees spent all week making rounds in the legislature … and faced more questions about the vaccination campaign.

— However, if you really want to find out why the vaccine program is chaotic, the man to talk to is Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz. He says the feds are not delivering as much as they promised as soon as they promised.

— Moskowitz spoke to members of the House Pandemic Committee right after they passed a bill to crack down on people who commit fraud during a pandemic.

— And there’s more gloom and doom in the new state budget. The chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee says 2021 will not be a fun year.

— And finally, there’s a Florida Man whose kids will apparently follow him to the Sunshine State when he leaves the White House.

Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees makes a rare public appearance to answer questions about the state’s response to COVID-19 and defend the vaccine distribution effort. Sen. Aaron Bean says there’s been a communication breakdown.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— One tidbit to emerge from the grilling is that vaccine tourism is entirely legal. Gov. Ron DeSantis may not like it, but state health officials say they cannot stop people from other states from being vaccinated here.

— DeSantis held news conferences in both Ponte Vedra and Naples to announce Publix supermarkets in four more counties will offer vaccinations … beginning today.

— Another thing we learned for sure during the COVID-19 crisis: Florida’s unemployment system is pretty much useless. Democrats in the Legislature have filed a bill to change that.

— Donald Trump has been impeached. Again. It was a party-line vote in the Florida delegation as Republican Brian Mast and Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz debate. (Just be glad the House limited comments to 30 seconds each.)

— And finally, stories of two Florida Men who went grave robbing for religious purposes.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is saying Capitol Police will have additional officers on standby to deal with any armed protests by disgruntled supporters of Donald Trump.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— During a news conference at The Villages, the Governor talked briefly about last week’s deadly riot in Washington … with one question he would not answer.

— DeSantis may not want to answer about the President, but he is doing a bit of a victory dance over his decision to put seniors at the head of the line for COVID-19 vaccinations.

— DeSantis also announced Publix stores in three North Florida counties will start offering vaccinations.

— Shortly after that announcement, the Department of Health released the daily COVID-19 casualty count. As of Tuesday, 23,585 died in Florida and more than one-and-a-half million have contracted the disease.

— On Sunrise in-depth, you’ll hear how the COVID-19 crisis has worsened the opioid crisis.

— And finally, today’s Florida Man story is about a firefighter charged with shenanigans at the U.S. Capitol last week.

Democrats in the state Legislature are vowing to thwart the GOP plan to pass a new law targeting people who protest in public. They say the Governor is trying to use White supremacist violence in Washington to justify a crackdown on peaceful Black Lives Matter rallies in Florida.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody both joined in Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the election of Joe Biden. The Democratic leader of the state Senate says their lies about voter fraud undermined democracy and helped enable the coup at The Capitol.

— DeSantis is also under fire for the way COVID-19 vaccinations are happening in Florida.

— But Congresswoman Kathy Castor of Tampa says the situation will improve once Trump is out and Biden is in charge of the federal response COVID-19.

— No sign of a break in the casualty count. The Department of Health reports 163 more fatalities from the disease and more than 11,000 newly confirmed cases.

— Florida TaxWatch is issuing a new report saying Florida businesses will pay a heavy price if the Legislature doesn’t protect them from COVID-19 liability lawsuits.

— Republicans in the Legislature are vowing to protect businesses from liability lawsuits and will discuss a bill this week. They have shown zero interest in fixing the broken unemployment system or dealing with the flood of evictions and foreclosures waiting in the wings.

— And finally, the Florida Man photographed during The Capitol coup wearing a gun while dressed in a Punisher shirt and holding a handful of zip ties often used for handcuffs.

Florida lawmakers are returning to The Capitol for more than two dozen committee hearings this week. COVID-19 and a multibillion-dollar hole in the budget are big concerns.

— Gov. Ron DeSantis travels to Bay County to check out a faith-based vaccination center that reaches out to seniors by going through their pastors and ministers.

— DeSantis is also counting on Publix to fight the virus. After a vaccination pilot program at grocery stores in three central Florida counties, the Governor is ready to expand to other parts of the state.

— Seniors now have first shot at the vaccine in Florida, but DeSantis still won’t say who’s next in line and teachers are getting antsy.

— As the Governor tries to speed up the vaccination process, the winter surge of COVID-19 continues with more than 12,000 new cases and 111 new fatalities reported in the past 24 hours.

— Florida Democrats pick former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz to take over as party chair … replacing Terri Rizzo after the GOP cleaned their clock in 2020.

— And finally, two Florida Men: One tried to hide with the trash; the other faces federal charges after Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Florida’s Department of Health reports 170 fatalities and almost 20,000 new cases in a single day. That’s the second day in a row setting a record for new cases.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Ron DeSantis held news conferences in Bradenton and Vero Beach Thursday to talk about COVID vaccinations and never mentioned the rising number of casualties … but he did confirm the state is investigating reports that a posh nursing home in Palm Beach County gave vaccines to rich people who don’t live there but made big donations to the company that owns the home.

— In the aftermath of the failed coup by Donald Trump supporters, DeSantis is calling for swift action against the people who stormed The Capitol in D.C.

— One person DeSantis did not blame for inciting the riot was the President. And he takes no responsibility for his role as Trump’s top enabler in the Sunshine State who encouraged challenges to Joe Biden’s election.

— Instead of distancing himself from Trump, DeSantis is using the violence in Washington to justify his idea to slap new limits and penalties on protesters … which was his response to the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer.

— Florida Man also made an appearance at the coup. A resident of Manatee County was identified as the protesters who was photographed walking through The Capitol after stealing a lectern adorned with the official seal of the House Speaker.

— Today on Sunrise in-depth, you’ll hear from some women who serve in the legislature who are horrified by a new Department of Justice report about the treatment of inmates at Lowell Correctional Institution, the state’s largest prison for women.

— And finally, an Illinois resident became an honorary Florida Man after mailing a dead rat to his ex-wife in Tampa.