Palm Bay’s council met Friday to consider a $55,000 settlement that would resolve a federal lawsuit by censured Councilman Chandler Langevin. The vote follows months of controversy over his social‑media posts.

Commissioners will vote Thursday on a three‑year, $55,000‑per‑year contract to add Aurelian AI’s "Ava" to Winter Garden’s 911 non‑emergency lines. Vendors and early pilots say it frees dispatchers; advocates want clear oversight and data rules.

Lawmakers removed a contested "food libel" clause from HB 433 after activists warned it would chill speech and expose critics to big legal bills.

Senators advanced "Meg’s Law," a bill to limit where flavored nitrous‑oxide canisters can be sold and to impose felony penalties on retailers who sell them. The measure now heads to final floor votes in both chambers.

SB 1756 cleared a Senate committee in Tallahassee, creating a conscience exemption for school vaccines and authorizing behind‑the‑counter ivermectin while narrowing emergency vaccine powers.

A Florida recalculation of student counts will trim about $17M from OCPS’s 2025–26 state aid, compounding budget and staffing pressures after big enrollment losses.

A Republican candidate captured in a viral video using a racial slur is challenging Rep. Bruce Antone in Orlando’s District 41 as county officials review the clip. The race now pits a disability‑rights narrative against a moment of public outrage.

A sweeping Florida education bill would require HD fetal‑development videos in grades 6–12, let parents opt out and fold math, attendance and curriculum rules into one package.

Florida's public counsel says FPL customers are already paying into a multiyear settlement and that his office is appealing the commission's approval.

New bills in Tallahassee would send bail refunds back to defendants, critics say, starving nonprofit bail funds and increasing pretrial jail time and taxpayer costs.

Preliminary VISIT FLORIDA estimates show 143.3 million visitors in 2025, driven by domestic travel and a record fourth quarter. The tally could reshape spring travel across Orlando, Miami and the Gulf Coast.

A coalition of seven Florida private schools says Step Up For Students failed to deliver millions in scholarship dollars, straining small and special‑needs programs and spawning a Duval County lawsuit.

Orlando moved after‑midnight policing fees to monthly advance payments on Feb. 1, a change operators say could saddle bars with crippling front‑loaded costs.