56 h. ago College board reverses decision on hiring University of Florida president over DEI concerns

Santa Ono was rejected after questions about his earlier support of DEI initiatives and later disavowal of themConservatives on a state college board reversed a decision to hire the experienced academic Santa Ono to lead the University of Florida, despite his efforts to distance himself from previous support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and past criticism of Donald Trump.The 10-6 vote followed a contentious meeting of the Florida board of governors on Tuesday when members argued over Ono’s record, including accusations he failed to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests last year while he was president of the University of Michigan. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Barbaric’: wildlife advocates criticize Florida bear hunt proposal

Controversial plans for a hunt could see the slaughter of almost 200 black bears, about 5% of the state’s estimated totalIt’s tough to be a bear in Florida these days, where only a year ago a Republican state congressman was accusing the ursine population of shooting up crack cocaine and trashing people’s houses.Then came a controversial new law that allows anybody to shoot and kill any bear perceived as a threat without fear of consequences, which animal advocates say could be bad news for any creature that inadvertently wanders into a back yard. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Florida sandwich shop staffer helps free kidnapped domestic violence victim

Jersey Mike’s employee reportedly called county sheriff’s office after finding note in store bathroom that read ‘HELP’A Navarre, Florida, sandwich shop employee reportedly helped authorities save a domestic violence victim who had allegedly been kidnapped by her abusive, pro-wrestler boyfriend after the worker recently found a note in a store bathroom that read “HELP!”At the center of the incident is Eleanor Coffee, who was at her job making sandwiches for a shop belonging to the Jersey Mike’s chain when she noticed a “little piece of crumpled up paper” that had been discarded next to one of the business’s toilet paper dispensers, as she put it to the local news station WEAR-TV. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Trump pardons two divers convicted of theft for freeing sharks off Florida coast

Pardons signed for Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr, who freed 19 sharks and giant grouper from fisherman’s longlineDonald Trump has pardoned two south Florida shark divers convicted of theft for freeing 19 sharks and a giant grouper from a fisherman’s longline several miles from shore.Pardons for Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr were signed on Wednesday. They had been convicted in 2022 of theft of property within special maritime jurisdiction. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago McDavid and Oilers finish Stars to book Stanley Cup final rematch with Panthers

Edmonton score on first two shots and win Game 5McDavid, Perry lead Oilers past Stars in West finalsOilers to face Panthers in Stanley Cup final rematchConnor McDavid had the breakaway goal that swung the momentum back to the Edmonton Oilers, and their captain happily touched the trophy they got after wrapping up another Western Conference title.McDavid got that big goal in the second period after an earlier assist, 40-year-old Corey Perry scored again and the Oilers are going to their second Stanley Cup final in a row after beating the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday night in Game 5 to wrap up the West final. Continue reading...

Sport

1 week ago Florida man bitten by alligator then fatally shot by deputies after ‘rampage’, sheriff says

Man believed to be high on methamphetamine swam in alligator-infested waters before charging at officers, according to the sheriffA Florida man was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies after he was bitten by an alligator during an early morning dip in a lake, then threatened the officers with garden shears as he attempted to enter their patrol vehicle, the sheriff said.Photos posted to social media by deputies in Polk county showed the aftermath of Monday’s fatal, exceptionally chaotic events in Lakeland that ended with Timothy Schulz, 42, dead in what Grady Judd, the sheriff, called a “rampage”. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Scientists seek to save Florida’s dying reefs with hardy nursery

Reefs off the Keys have lost 90% of healthy coral cover in 40 years, but replanting effort aims to make reef more resilientA taskforce of experts looking into the mass bleaching and decline of Florida’s delicate coral reefs is planting more than 1,000 nursery-grown juveniles from the reef-building elkhorn species in a new effort to reverse the tide of destruction.Record ocean heat in 2023 hastened the death spiral for reefs in the Florida Keys, which have lost 90% of their healthy coral cover over the last 40 years, largely because of the climate emergency, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Trump hosts NCAA basketball champion Florida Gators at the White House

President Donald Trump has honored the 2025 NCAA basketball champion Florida Gators at the White House, proclaiming that “lesser teams would have crumbled” during its nail-biting title game victory

Politics

2 w. ago Ron DeSantis’s fall from grace: ‘He’s completely crashed to the ground’

Florida governor stands isolated from Trump and is feuding with Republicans at home – is he drifting to irrelevance?These are challenging days for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, the man who would have been king. Barely two and a half years since his landslide re-election and anointment as “DeFuture” of the Republican party in a fawning New York Post cover, he stands isolated from the national political stage, feuding with his once blindingly loyal Florida legislature, and limping towards the finish line of his second term with an uncertain pathway beyond.It has been, in the view of many analysts, a fall of stunning velocity and magnitude. And while few are willing to completely rule out a comeback for a 46-year-old politician who was the darling of the Republican hard right until he dared to challenge Donald Trump for his party’s 2024 presidential nomination, it is also clear that everything has changed. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Florida set to execute suspected serial killer once eyed for possible link to the OJ Simpson case

A suspected serial killer once scrutinized for a possible link to the O.J. Simpson case that riveted the nation in the 1990s is facing execution for a murder

Events

3 w. ago 2 more executions set in Florida, making it 6 so far in 2025

Florida is continuing its rapid pace of executions this year, with one convicted killer set to die this week and another on June 10 who would be the sixth person put to death by the state in 2025

Politics

3 w. ago Jaguars are playing the Rams in London in 2025. What you need to know

Jaguars are playing the Rams in London in 2025. What you need to know  The Florida Times-Union

Politics

3 w. ago Broadcast mogul Sanjog Gupta in line to increase Indian influence at ICC

Head of live sport at Jiostar set for ICC chief executive roleIPL set to resume on Saturday following suspensionIndian influence at the top table of world cricket could be set to increase with Sanjog Gupta, the head of live sport at broadcast giants Jiostar, having emerged as the frontrunner to become the new chief executive of the International Cricket Council.The ICC is currently looking to fill the role with Geoff Allardice, the incumbent, serving a notice period that runs until the body’s AGM in July. Three separate sources have told the Guardian that Gupta is favourite to succeed the Australian, moving across from the broadcast company that holds the ICC’s $3billion (£2.2bn) rights deal for global events. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Why is Saudi Arabia at the Gold Cup? It’s the latest in the Kingdom’s soft power campaign | Karim Zidan

The Middle Easterners come Stateside this summer for a regional tournament appearance enabled by sportswashingLast month, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) held an official draw in Miami, Florida for the 2025 Gold Cup, the premier biennial tournament for men’s football on the continent.This summer, the Gold Cup will serve as the crucial litmus test for the US national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the vast majority of which will take place on home soil. The draw placed the Americans in Group D, alongside Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Saudi Arabia. Continue reading...

Politics