Sunrise

First Lady Casey DeSantis flew on a private jet of a political contributor to her husband, which is raising some interesting ethics questions — particularly because Mrs. DeSantis attended both a Republican Party fundraiser and a health care policy event.

Also, on Sunrise with special host Jim Rosica, filling in for Rick Flagg:

— Amber Mariano is cleared after calling for a corruption investigation in Port Richey.

— Good news for the Panhandle, jobs are returning to areas ravaged by Hurricane Michael.

— Pollster, pundit and political guru Steve Vancore joins in a roundtable discussion of Judge Robert Hinkle, Hurricane Michael, minimum wage and other proposed amendments.

— More from Florida Men: Two men from the Treasure Coast are facing charges after state wildlife officials said they poured beer into an alligator's mouth.

A judge sentenced a Florida man to 10 days in jail, one-year probation and 150 hours of community service because he overslept and failed to show up for jury duty. Records show he’s done it before, and some suggest the punishments were based on race. State Sen. Bobby Powell filed a formal complaint against the judge and believes he should be removed from office.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— State Rep. Susan Valdes wants students to be able to take off one day each semester for mental health reasons. Two other states have already passed similar laws.

— Dean Ridings, the of the Florida Press Association is resigning next month, but he’s not giving up on newspapers. Ridings is going national.

— The latest in a continuing series on little-known talents of Florida politicians. In this installment, state Sen. Rob Bradley reveals he has a thing for color schemes and mascots of sports teams.

— New adventures of Florida Men: A guy who tried to barbecue some sex offenders and a drug dealer dressed up as a doctor to escape the law. He failed.

Supporters of new restrictions on firearms are taking aim at Sen. Rick Scott … and he’s not the only one in the crosshairs.

Also, in today’s Sunrise:

— A national organization called Support Working Animals is challenging Florida’s constitutional amendment that will shut down the greyhound racing industry. They want the amendment overturned, but the Florida Greyhound Association does NOT support the lawsuit; former Lieutenant Gov. Jeff Kottkamp explains why.

— Every four years, a state task force seeks to increase efficiency in state government; they’ll be looking at everything from red tape to water policy.

— As a federal judge in Tallahassee hears a lawsuit over Amendment 4 — which restores voting rights to former felons — a new survey shows most Floridians agree with a law passed by the Legislature this year saying rights cannot be restored until former inmates have paid all fees and fines and have made restitution to victims.

— Adventures of Florida Men: A fiery meth-head, beer-swilling gators and a man flinging live lobsters at pedestrians.

A new law setting up a process to restore voting rights for former felons is being challenged in federal court. Amendment 4 was supposed to make the process easier, but ACLU lawyers say the implementation law is undermining it

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Gov. Ron DeSantis proposes boosting the minimum salary for teachers to more than $47,000. The teacher’s union says it's nice to have a Governor who appears to be listening to their concerns, but they still have some questions.

— Two South Florida lawmakers filed bills requiring background checks to purchase ammunition.

— Noah Pransky reports on an online sex-sting by the Sarasota Sheriff’s Department that raises troubling questions about just how far cybercops go to try to set someone up and make an arrest. One of the suspects arrested during a sex sting last month was a 62-year-old man who committed suicide after his arrest.

— A 36-year-old Escambia County man is accused of breaking into a woman's home and holding her hostage while he masturbated and tried on some of her baby's clothing.

Impeachment fever is sweeping Washington, and Florida Republicans are trying to figure out how to deal with the mess. While North Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz plays defense, he also thinks House Democrats will impeach Donald Trump by Thanksgiving.

Also, in today’s Sunrise:

— Florida’s Craig Fugate, who used to run the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state Division of Emergency Management gives us his take on Sharpie-gate. Fugate says it was a simple mistake that should have been corrected instead of trying to make forecasters cover for the President’s gaffe.

— A Florida veteran laid to rest last week died without any family — according to the obituary — so the word went out on social media and thousands of people showed up. However, Ed Pearson did indeed have two sons and a good reason they didn’t attend. They thought he was dead.

— The Florida Department of Education launches a “listening tour” about new academic standards for public schools, starting this afternoon at Sebring Middle School.

— Bruce Campbell, a 63-year-old Loxahatchee man, lucked into a treasure trove of recordings made during World War II on a machine called a “RecordGraph.” One of those recordings was of a war correspondent George Hicks, on a Navy communications ship during the D-Day invasion, complete with anti-aircraft fire off the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

It’s been almost a year since Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle. Leaders of a group called Rebuild 850 say recovery is underway — but there’s a lot more work to be done and progress is slow.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— NPR’s chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley visits Florida to talk about reality-based reporting in a time when Americans seem to be living in different realities. Horsley says we’re all in this boat together, we’d better start acting like it.

— Donald Trump visits The Villages to talk about supporting Medicare and opposing socialized medicine, which is somewhat a contradiction in terms.

— After just 20 days, backers of a proposition to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in Florida say they’ve already collected more than 100 thousand signatures. It’s enough to trigger a review by the Florida Supreme Court.

— A bill legalizing open carry of firearms has been filed for the 2020 Legislative Session. If passed, you wouldn’t need a concealed carry permit, or any license at all.

— A Palm Harbor woman was pulled over for driving while drinking a can of White Claw, which is seltzer water spiked with alcohol. The woman apparently thought it was OK because they’re only 5 percent alcohol.

There is a brand-new effort to get Florida leaders to face up to the issue of “climate change” — words that were once verboten in state government

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Donald Trump is coming to Florida to talk about Medicare in “The Villages,” a GOP bastion we are Republicans will always get a warm reception. But some senior advocates will call out the President for “broken promises to protect Medicare.”

— A legal battle is heating up over two constitutional amendments to open Florida’s primary system. Sunrise speaks with one of the key players behind the campaign to let all voters vote — not just Democrats and Republicans.

— If you’re a fan of public spectacles, here is some sad news: After 39 years of floats and pageantry, Orlando’s Citrus Parade is getting the squeeze.

— And today’s Florida Man story comes from Scott Horsley, chief economics correspondent and former White House reporter for National Public Radio. But before that, Horsely spent time working in the Tampa radio market; so, he knows a thing or two about Florida Man.

Sunrise looks at new rules from Florida’s Agriculture Department imposing limits on forest and agricultural burning. Before any controlled burn of an entire field of sugarcane remnants, they will now have to check things like fog and the air quality index.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Good news for hard-hit Bay County. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved almost $160 million to help pay for the cost of hurricane debris removal.

— Speaking of the Panhandle, there’s a major kerfuffle at Rebuild 850 — the organization created to aid in the recovery of the region after Hurricane Michael. Former Congresswoman Gwen Graham was removed as co-chair of the committee because of tweets she made that were critical of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

—A group of Florida faith leaders signed onto a letter-writing campaign from the Church World Service to U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Rick Scott and the rest of Congress urging them to restore the U.S. refugee acceptance program.

— Florida Man Nathaniel Collier, a vendor at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, charged a fan $362 apiece for two beers. He was promptly arrested.

A national leader in the fight against human trafficking says Florida is one of the state’s leading the way — but we still don’t know the full extent of the problem or a way to prevent it.

Also, today on Sunrise:

— The state wildlife commission is considering new rules for a handful of companies that offer elephant rides to the public. While the proposal doesn’t ban the practice, new regulations could put some of those companies out of business.

— New laws passed in the 2019 Legislative Session are taking effect today. Make sure you don’t hurt a police dog, haze someone, text while driving through a school zone or try to buy a child-like sex doll.

— Another new gun bill has been filed for the 2020 Session. This time, it’s to ban guns — including concealed carry — at childcare facilities in Florida.

— A toothless Florida woman faces two charges of auto theft after her dentures were discovered inside a stolen Kia.

A suicide in Sarasota raises troubling questions about tactics used by the cyber-cops in the Sunshine State to entice and entrap people into sex stings.

Also, on today’s Sunrise:

— Ron DeSantis is sticking to his guns on the suspension of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel after a special master investigating his removal said the Governor was wrong. DeSantis doesn’t seem to care.

— The Governor gives his support to VISIT FLORIDA, hopefully keeping it off the legislative hit list, but the House Speaker may have other plans.

— A look at some of the new laws that were passed earlier this year and are taking effect tomorrow.

— Also, a one-on-one with Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, on everything from hemp and wildfire to Donald Trump.

— A Florida woman who works as a bodybuilding model has been sentenced to five years in prison after faking a kidnapping attempt on her daughter, as well as using phony Instagram accounts to terrorize competitors.