The bill banning rainbow flags from public buildings in Florida sounded like a sure bet.
Washington
DeSantis faces pushback in Florida as voters tire of war on woke
But instead of sailing through the Republican-dominated legislature, the DeSantis-backed bill died a quick legislative death, making it only as far as one subcommittee.
It wasn’t the only culture war proposal from conservative lawmakers to end up in the bill graveyard during the session that ended Friday. One rejected bill would have banned the removal of Confederate monuments. Another would have required transgender people to use their sex assigned at birth on driver’s licenses — something the state Department of Motor Vehicles is already mandating. A third proposed forbidding local and state government officials from using transgender people’s pronouns.
Some of those ideas have come up in the past and may surface again next year. But the fact that the bills failed, even with public support from DeSantis, marks a change from the days when the GOP supermajority in Tallahassee passed nearly everything the governor asked for.
Florida has firmly cemented itself in recent years as ground zero for the nation’s culture wars. The Sunshine State is the birthplace of conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty, the original law restricting LGBTQ+ discussion in classrooms, one of the strictest abortion laws in the country and legislation that has led to the banning of more books than in any other state in America.
But the pushback is growing.
Parents and others have organized and protested schoolbook bans. Abortion rights advocates gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot in Florida in November. A bill that would have established “fetal personhood” stalled before it could reach a full vote.
Judges are also canceling some of DeSantis’s marquee laws, including the “Stop Woke Act.” A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Monday that the law “exceeds the bounds” of the Constitution’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression.
Even the governor recently admitted the state might have gone too far in trying to remove certain books from school shelves, suggesting laws on book challenges should be “tweaked” to prevent “bad actors” from having too much influence.
Democrats and other DeSantis critics say the laws that the governor has pushed will continue to shape public life in Florida for years to come, and they don’t expect the Republican supermajority in the state House to suddenly abandon conservative causes. But they do sense a shift.
“When his presidential race ended, I think that a lot of his influence and power died at the same time,” said state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a South Florida Democrat. “And I think that people in Florida and across the country, including Republicans, are starting to see that the culture wars are getting us nowhere.”
In the past year, the Florida GOP has been rocked by a sex scandal involving the party chairman and infighting between DeSantis and Trump supporters.
GOP voter registration numbers continued to surpass Democrats, but the party lost two local races they were expected to win: the mayor’s office in Jacksonville, and a closely contested special election to replace a Republican state representative near Orlando.
The legislative seat flipped blue in January when Democrat Tom Keen defeated his Republican rival, a conservative school board member who raised more than twice as much money and promised to fight “the woke agenda.” Keen campaigned on lowering property insurance rates and protecting access to abortion.
DeSantis, who was largely absent from the state while he campaigned for the GOP presidential nomination, has urged lawmakers to “stay the course.” But his doomed presidential bid changed political calculations in and out of the state.
Many lawmakers credit Republican Senate President Kathleen Passidomo for some of the shift. Passidomo stopped several culture war bills from progressing in the Senate, including one that would have punished local officials who oversaw the removal of Confederate monuments.
DeSantis strongly supported the bill, arguing that it is problematic to apply a “hyper-woke 21st-century test” to historical figures.
“It’s totally appropriate for the legislature to say, ‘You know what? We’re going to stop this madness,’” DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville in February, two months after the city pulled down a controversial Jim Crow-era monument called “Women of the Southland.”
Among the public speakers who supported the monuments bill at a Senate hearing was a man who said he wanted to protect Confederate statues to “push White culture, white supremacy.”
Democrats walked out of the hearing, while Republicans on the committee — some of whom visibly recoiled at the white-supremacy remarks — approved the bill. But Passidomo refused to bring it to the full Senate.
“I’m not going to bring a bill to the floor that is so abhorrent to everybody,” she said.
The Senate president also rejected most of the 10 bill priorities the state Republican Party outlined in a legislative wish list, saying the party didn’t dictate what lawmakers should do.
DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment but said Friday at an end-of-session news conference that he was satisfied with what was passed by the legislature this year. Sponsors of the bills protecting monuments and outlawing rainbow flags also did not respond to requests for comment.
DeSantis did see some of his priorities pass. The legislature approved a law that the governor pushed prohibiting sleeping in public. And a ban on “woke meat” — food products cultivated in a lab from animal cells — easily got the green light from Republican lawmakers.
“You need meat, okay? Like, we’re going to have fake meat? That doesn’t work,” he said at a news conference in February, rejecting arguments that banning it could stifle innovation.
Even DeSantis’s budget requests faced pushback this year. The governor wanted an additional $5 million for his controversial migrant relocation program, but lawmakers only agreed to current spending levels. He also tried to add $57 million toward the recently reestablished Florida State Guard. Legislators signed off on a lower amount — $18.5 million, and added a requirement for detailed spending reports from the agency.
“What we saw this session was that bills that were either DeSantis ideas or retreads from last year really didn’t get anywhere,” said the state House’s minority leader, Fentrice Driskell. “I think in large part it’s because DeSantis has lost steam. He lost on the national stage, and that emboldened the Republicans in the legislature to feel like they don’t have to go along to get along with this guy anymore.”
Parents in Miami-Dade County founded Moms for Libros last year as an antidote to Moms for Liberty, the Florida-based group promoted by DeSantis.
The founders of Moms for Libros — Moms for Books — say they got together to battle what they see as censorship in schools. Their ranks have grown in the past year, and they say their messages — promoted in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole — are resonating even with parents who initially supported DeSantis’s education bills.
“A lot of the conservative Cuban American parents I talk to say they thought it was just about keeping sex out of schools,” said Vanessa Brito, co-founder of Moms For Libros. “But when they learn what was really happening, like when they heard that a book about Celia Cruz was taken off the shelves, they are very concerned. Having the government come in and tell you that your kids can’t have a book about Celia Cruz, that caused an uproar.”
The book, “Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa,” was temporarily removed from Duval County schools last year.
Brito said she talks to parents who are starting to object to the state’s growing list of rules and laws pertaining to education. In one incident that made international headlines, a Miami-area school required students to get parental permission to attend an “extracurricular activity” that included a talk by Florida historian Marvin Dunn, a Black scholar who has chronicled racist incidents in state history.
“Republican, Democrat, independent, people just don’t want books banned in our country. So it was just a collection of bad ideas that imploded on DeSantis,” Dunn said. “And now he’s actively trying to back off of these policies that have caused so much confusion in the state and in the education system at all levels.”
School officials said they were only following the new laws; DeSantis said they were being “absurd” and told them to “knock it off.”
“The vagueness of the laws have led to full-blown censorship, and people now see that happening in real time,” said Brito, who voted for DeSantis the first time he ran for governor in 2018. “And from what I’ve seen, they’re getting tired of ‘woke this, woke that.’”
The governor has also seen his “anti-woke” agenda challenged in court. In addition to the recent ruling on the “Stop Woke Act,” federal judges have halted enforcement of a law DeSantis signed last year that targeted drag shows. A different court declared that a rule from the state health agency that would ban Medicaid payments for gender-affirming care is unconstitutional.
DeSantis did nonetheless score a legal victory when a federal appeals panel sided with him over the Walt Disney Co. in January in regards to the state takeover of the entertainment giant’s special taxing district. But even with that win, the consequences of the feud have been far reaching, with the company canceling plans to build a $1 billion employee campus in Florida.
Since his return from the campaign trail, DeSantis has been flying around the state holding news conferences several times a week. He’s talked about congressional term limits, making retail theft a felony and cracking down on rowdy spring breakers. He’s also sent more state law enforcement officers to the southern border in Texas and ordered the release of grand jury records from the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Political analyst Susan MacManus said voters in Florida are paying more attention to pocketbook issues than culture war laws, and state lawmakers — most of whom are up for reelection this year — need to pay attention. Republicans who may have been following DeSantis’s lead on laws that target the LGBTQ+ community and Black history are hearing different concerns when they return to their districts.
“There’s a concern I’m hearing more and more from people, and in the media, that Florida is becoming too expensive,” said MacManus, professor emeritus at the University of South Florida. “We’re seeing stories on the nightly news about people moving out of the state because the cost of living is too high here.”
With homeowners and auto insurance costs that are more than triple that of other states, MacManus said Republican and Democratic voters have more pressing concerns than culture wars.
“These legislators are coming back and, and their families and friends are saying they should be doing something that is going help us,” MacManus said. “The woke things may be interesting to some Republicans, but there are bigger issues.”
Mike Fasano, a lifelong Republican who served in the House and Senate for 18 years and is now the Pasco County tax collector, said most culture war issues are not on the minds of families struggling to pay rising property and auto insurance costs.
“I don’t think families, whether they’re Republican or Democratic or independent, are sitting at the breakfast table talking about which books should be banned,” Fasano said. “They’re talking about how they’re going to pay their rent or mortgage and the electric bill and the premium on their homeowners insurance.”
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Washington’s National Mall is set to be drained again for repairs after algae and peeling paint appeared just weeks after a US$14.7 million renovation, while President Donald Trump threatened prison time for anyone caught damaging the pool.
The DC Water authority issued a permit to drain the 609-metre rectangular pool, it said on Monday, while the repair company said it would fix the pool as part of its warranty.
Peeling paint and algae growth have been visible in the pool since soon after Trump declared the renovation project complete on June 6. Critics have raised concerns about the no-bid contract to recoat the pool before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations next month, as well as for the ducks that use its water. Workers from the National Park Service earlier this week poured hydrogen peroxide into the pool to combat the algae.
Trump, without evidence, has blamed vandals for the state of the landmark. On Monday, he echoed a weekend threat by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro to prosecute people accused of attempting to destroy the pool.
“Please remember that there is a 10-year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” Trump earlier wrote in a social media post. Destruction of federal property can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
It was not immediately apparent what criminal or civil violation someone might commit reaching into the pool.
Half a year can be an eternity in the NBA.
Seven months ago, as Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks headed toward a divorce, Young’s value within the league had never been lower.
On Monday, Young and the Washington Wizards agreed to a new four-year, maximum-salary contract worth approximately $212.9 million, according to a league source. The fourth year of the contract will be a player option.
Young’s first-year salary is estimated to be $49.5 million, which amounts to 30 percent of the projected 2026-27 salary cap of $165 million. During the 2029-30 season, the final year of the contract, Young will earn $56.9 million if he accepts his player option.
Wizards officials would love it, of course, if Young can return to the form that made him an All-NBA Third Team player during the 2021-22 season. But at the very least, they place significant value on knowing that their team’s offense will start with him on most occasions, and that he will be around to shoulder a large portion of the scoring load while the team’s young players, who comprise the team’s long-term nucleus, continue to improve.
Wizards get the No. 1 draft pick. Will it make a difference?
David Aldridge
That Young will receive such large annual salaries no doubt will come as a shock to many observers, especially after Young’s reputation took a beating toward the end of his Hawks tenure. The NBA rumor mill, which is often inaccurate, predicted months ago that any new deal between Young and the Wizards would average no more than $40 million annually.
But in recent weeks, Wizards decision-makers became convinced that, with the NBA’s new anti-tanking measures compelling more teams to compete, Young was going to command maximum-salary contract offers from other franchises through either a straight free-agent signing or a sign-and-trade proposal.
Because the Wizards hold Young’s Bird rights, the Wizards had the latitude to offer Young up to a five-year contract with 8 percent annual raises. But Young’s new four-year deal instead features 5 percent year-over-year raises, the maximum year-over-year raise that any other team could have offered Young as a non-Bird free agent. For Washington, the difference between signing Young to 5 percent raises instead of 8 percent raises will amount to a total savings of $8.9 million over four years.
Wizards officials are not concerned that Young’s new contract will age poorly and prevent them from making future moves to improve their roster. Anthony Davis, who is due to earn $58.5 million in 2026-27, and Young are now Washington’s highest-paid players on its young roster, but the person with the third-largest salary is big man Alex Sarr, who will be paid the relatively small sum of $12.3 million this season. At the earliest, the Wizards do not expect to approach the dreaded first apron until the 2028-29 season, when any new rookie-scale contract extensions for Sarr and Kyshawn George would go into effect.
Plus, Wizards officials reason that Young, who will turn 28 years old in September, will remain in his prime years through the end of his contract. The onerous large contracts that age the worst — potentially Jimmy Butler’s current deal with the Golden State Warriors and Paul George’s current deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, for example — tend to be contracts in which players already are past their primes at the start of their contracts.
Young is by no means a perfect player. Undersized at 6 feet 1, and undeniably more focused on the offensive end of the floor, he tended to be a significant defensive liability throughout his Hawks tenure. That trend could worsen if he begins to lose a step (or two) over the next several years.
At the same time, though, Wizards officials have always known that their lineups would have to feature enough positional size and enough defensive-oriented players to compensate for Young’s shortcomings — in the same way that the defensive liabilities of LaMelo Ball, Jalen Brunson, Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell (and others) are compensated for by their respective teams.
The Wizards’ decision-makers believe Davis and youngsters Bilal Coulibaly, Davis, George, Sarr and whomever they pick first overall in Tuesday night’s draft will develop into strong enough defenders to help Young.
Young appeared in only five games for Washington last season after his trade from Atlanta for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. That was a large enough sample size to demonstrate how his gravity and his passing skill could create open shots for his new teammates. George, Tre Johnson and others should receive more wide-open 3-point looks when Young directs the offense, and Sarr and Davis should feast on lobs from Young in pick-and-rolls.
Only 16 players in NBA history have averaged at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in the same season, according to Basketball Reference. Young is one of those players, and he has done it three times, during the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The only other players who have had at least three seasons of at least 20 points and 10 assists per game are James Harden (four times), Kevin Johnson (three times), Magic Johnson (three times), Oscar Robertson (five times), Isiah Thomas (four times) and Russell Westbrook (five times).
The franchise expects Young to make Washington’s offense more efficient and, because opponents will have to take the ball out of their net more often, give Washington’s defense more opportunities to set itself.
July 6 is the first day when new free-agent contracts may be signed and made official.
President Trump did not provide evidence that vandals damaged the Reflecting Pool. The $14 million renovation marked the latest in his efforts to beautify Washington, D.C.
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(Courtesy CNN)
Courtesy CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump claimed Saturday, without providing evidence, that vandals damaged the algae-plagued Reflecting Pool on the National Mall and that the water will need to be drained for repairs.
Trump said police arrested “many additional people” for the vandalism, though one told CNN he was merely touching a piece of partially detached blue material from the recent renovation.
A senior administration official said police arrested five people for vandalism and issued federal citations to five others. The official said there were 14 police reports over vanadlism including for an alleged incident where a more than 250-foot section was cut with a blade.
“The Reflecting Pool was never so beautiful as it was just one week ago,” Trump said, adding that it will repaired quickly. Trump’s recent renovation, totaling $14 million, marked the latest in the president’s efforts to beautify Washington, DC, with architectural changes that have included building a White House ballroom and refurbishing run-down fountains.
Now, what was meant to be a straightforward task to return the century-old pool to its intended glory ahead of America’s 250th anniversary has become a spectacle, drawing tourists and locals to the pool for the wrong reason.
Three-time US Olympian David Hearn told CNN that police arrested him Friday after he said he touched a flap of blue material partially detached from the bottom of the pool. Hearn, who says he has a background in material science, told CNN he checked it out following a bike ride after reading reports of algae in the water and paint or sealant peeling off the bottom.
Hearn said he was curious about a partially attached blue flap he saw at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool. Upon reaching into the water, Hearn said he “sort of felt the end” and “bent it around a little bit.”
Hearn said a US National Park Service staffer instructed him not to reach into the water. After Hearn returned to his bike, he said was soon encountered by National Guard members and eventually arrested by the US Park Police. He said he was charged with destruction and defacing government property and disobeying a government employee.
The Olympic canoeist denied vandalizing the Reflecting Pool and said his actions were that of a “curious citizen.”
“There’s nothing about the Reflecting Pool that was in any different condition after I left there than it had before I went by there yesterday. I didn’t remove anything. I didn’t break, tear, peel, or rip, or destroy anything,” Hearn said Saturday.
He is set to appear in court on July 9. CNN has reached out to the US Park Police and the National Park Service to ask about Hearn’s account and for information on any other arrests.
Pet project for the president
Earlier this year, the president described the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as “absolutely filthy,” vowing to clean up the landmark and make it “look gorgeous, beautiful” so it reflects the federal monuments around it.
But with the Fourth of July and America’s 250th anniversary fast approaching, the pool that sits near the feet of Abraham Lincoln’s statue has instead come to reflect the deep divisions over those beautification efforts — and Trump’s presidency itself.
Trump on Friday first echoed claims that surfaced in right-wing circles that the pool’s broader problems are a result of vandalism, and linked it to the etching of “8647” into the grass on the National Mall days prior, adding that law enforcement is investigating.
“We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without citing evidence. He said the algae was “75% gone” and the “vandalized” area will be fixed early next week.
Tourists and local residents alike have flocked to the site in recent days, shooting video of the murky green water for social media posts that feature either a condemnation of Trump’s presidency or a passionate defense of the effort to clean up DC. Some peeled off strips of the blue material to take as souvenirs. Others filmed federal workers pouring bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the water.
The Interior Department has dismissed the visible signs of algae that have only become more abundant as DC’s warm, muggy weather fosters its growth. In a post on X Wednesday, the department’s press office touted its efforts to clear out the algae and described the water as being “crystal clear.”
CNN has reached out to the Interior Department for comment and additional details on the cleanup efforts.
Trump set out in late March to accomplish the renovation that has eluded previous presidents. In a post on Truth Social, he criticized the Biden administration for not taking on the project after a $34 million reconstruction effort under President Barack Obama proved unsuccessful.
In the weeks that followed, Trump expanded the scope of the project and ordered cosmetic changes, including painting the bottom of the pool “American flag blue.” The paint change immediately sparked a lawsuit from a nonprofit group, which argued the project violated federal laws requiring the Interior Department to complete a consultation process before beginning the work.
The president also wanted the project to be complete before July Fourth, an expedited timeline that the administration acknowledged drove up the cost — nearly seven times as much as the initial estimate of $1.8 million.
Trump made a visit to the site to survey progress, and weeks before it was complete, he began celebrating by posting an AI-generated image to Truth Social of him and some of his Cabinet members smiling while floating in the pool.
‘Residual algae’ woes
But just a day after the reservoir was filled with water, algae was already visible from the water’s edge.
The Interior Department told CNN at the time that the algae was “residual” and a normal part of the early process of restarting water flow.
However, within days, clumps of algae took over the pool, prompting the administration to send in workers to vacuum it out, install a filtration known as the “ozone nanobubbler” and dump in gallons of hydrogen peroxide.
To make matters worse for the Trump administration, earlier this week, blue material at the bottom of pool began peeling off. It is unclear whether the material is paint or sealant or what caused it to come up.
Democrats online were quick to gloat.
“You can’t make this up: after railing about waste, fraud, and abuse, the Trump Administration spent $14 million on a reflecting pool reno that’s now peeling and chock full of algae,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said in a post on X. “I’m pressing to get answers for this embarrassing waste of resources.”
Beyond lawmakers, the pool saga has prompted an online debate, filled with false claims and conspiracy theories.
Left-leaning social media users latched onto a clip of a Fox News personality defending the renovation, incorrectly claiming that he was describing the visibly green water as blue. (He was referring to the pool’s bottom.)
Meanwhile, conservative media personality Grant Stinchfield alleged the excessive algae is a product of liberal “sabotage.”
“Is it nefarious? I tend to think so,” Stinchfield told his online viewers from outside the Reflecting Pool.
A video posted by conservative influencer Nick Sortor on Thursday night has also garnered attention. The video appeared to show “8647” traced into the algae at the bottom of the pool. CNN could not independently see that tracing on Saturday. When used as slang, the number 86 can refer to getting rid of or tossing something out. Trump is the 47th president. The phrase has recently been used to signal opposition to Trump.
Outside the pool, a collection of curiosity seekers and social media influencers have also gathered. One woman showed up with a banner painted with a green “Algae” as she chanted, “Algae’s smarter than MAGA.”
Matthew Weimer of California, who was in Washington, DC, to visit friends, applauded the renovation.
“I think it’s pretty great that somebody cared enough to do something about it,” Weimer said. When asked about criticisms over the pool, he said: “The people who are criticizing, what are they doing to make things better?”
Qayla Sykes, who visited from Connecticut for a bachelorette party, made a quick stop at the National Mall to take in the spectacle.
“It looks pretty gross. I’ve taken about like 20 pictures already, especially of the people cleaning it, because I don’t know if I’ll ever see this again in my lifetime,” she said. “Hopefully not.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
-
Washington1 minute agoAlgae-filled Washington pool to be drained for repairs after US$14.7 million renovation
-
Wisconsin9 minutes agoTOUR KICKS OFF: Kids from Wisconsin begins 56th annual tour Thursday in Whitewater
-
West Virginia11 minutes ago6-year-old boy dies in motocross crash in West Virginia, officials say
-
Wyoming17 minutes agoNew Department of Family Services summer food program launches in Wyoming
-
Crypto24 minutes agoSafaricom Teams With Chainalysis as AI Hunts Payments Linked to Illegal Wildlife Trade
-
Finance26 minutes agoEU and Hong Kong in talks on new financial services dialogue, envoy says
-
Fitness32 minutes agoThe ‘Greek God Method’ May be the Most Efficient Way to Build an Aesthetic Physique After 40
-
Movie Reviews41 minutes agoMovie Review – The Get Out (2026)
