Florida
Court Dumps Florida's 'Positively Dystopian' 'Stop WOKE' Law
![Court Dumps Florida's 'Positively Dystopian' 'Stop WOKE' Law](https://img1-azrcdn.newser.com/image/1521968-12-20240305065347.jpeg)
A court has ruled that one of the signature laws of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is unlawful. A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act, also known as the Individual Freedom Act, “exceeds the bounds of the First Amendment.” Passed in 2022, the Stop WOKE Act restricts how schools and private companies can teach diversity and inclusion, and prohibits them from making a person “feel guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress” due to their race, color, sex, or national origin. Several businesses challenged the law, saying it kept them from speaking with employees “on important societal matters” and “ideas essential for improving their workplaces,” per Politico.
Tallahassee US District Judge Mark Walker previously blocked some provisions in the law, calling it “positively dystopian.” “Under this Act, professors enjoy ‘academic freedom’ so long as they express only those viewpoints of which the State approves,” he wrote, per NBC News. A three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling Monday, rejecting “this latest attempt to control speech by recharacterizing it as conduct.” “By limiting its restrictions to a list of ideas designated as offensive, the Act targets speech based on its content,” wrote Judge Britt C. Grant, per Politico. “And by barring only speech that endorses any of those ideas, it penalizes certain viewpoints—the greatest First Amendment sin.”
“Banning speech on a wide variety of political topics is bad; banning speech on a wide variety of political viewpoints is worse,” continued Grant, who was joined by Judges Charles Wilson and Andrew Brasher, per the Washington Post. The group suing the state, Protect Democracy, called it a “major victory for free speech in the workplace.” But DeSantis’ press secretary suggested this would not be the last word. “We disagree with the Court’s opinion that employers can require employees to be taught—as a condition of employment—that one race is morally superior to another race,” said Jeremy Redfern, per Politico. “The First Amendment protects no such thing.” The administration added the state would be “reviewing all options on appeal going forward.” (More Florida stories.)
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Florida
Florida-bred Dancing N Dixie Gets Up in Time to Win Tepin Stakes – FTBOA
![Florida-bred Dancing N Dixie Gets Up in Time to Win Tepin Stakes – FTBOA](https://www.ftboa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Florida-bred-Dancing-N-Dixie-©Kurtis-CoadyCoady-Media-scaled.jpg)
BY CHURCHILL DOWNS PRESS OFFICE
LOUISVILLE, KY—Dancing N Dixie rallied from the outside to edge Mo Fox Givin by a neck at the wire and won Saturday’s fifth running of the $233,418 Tepin for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Dancing N Dixie completed one mile on firm turf in 1:36.04 for owners Gary Barber, Rocky Top Stables and Chris Moore’s LEMB Stables.
Previously, Dancing N Dixie finished third in three consecutive graded stakes events. She finished just a length behind winner Waskesiu in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs on March 9 then was less than a length off of winner Buchu in the Grade 2 Applachian at Keeneland on April 6. In her last race, the 3-year-old gray or roan filly was just a length-and-a-half behind Dynamic Pricing in the Grade 2 Edgewood at Churchill Downs on May 3.
Pipsy (Ire) set the pace and led the field of eight 3-year-old fillies through early fractions of :23.83 and :47.76. The closers, including Dancing N Dixie who raced in seventh down the backstretch, began to make their moves around the far turn. Mo Fox Givin found open seam in deep stretch and spurted to the front nearing the sixteenth pole but it was Dancing N Dixie, who made a sweeping wide move in the stretch and rallied home strongly for the over-the-top win at the wire.
Mo Fox Givin was second, a half-length in front of Kathynmarissa in third. Poolside With Slim (Ire), Just Better, My Brazilian Girl, Simply in Front and Pipsy completed the order of finish. Dozen Diamonds, Kodiac Wintergreen (Ire) and Voodoo Magic were scratched.
Dancing N Dixie paid $11.78 to win.
“She’s a very nice filly and got unlucky in her last two starts,” Ortiz said. “She kept finding more the more I asked her.”
With her win Saturday, Dancing N Dixie improved her career record to three wins and three thirds in 10 starts with purse earnings of $320,550. Saturday’s victory was worth $135,315.
She was is a graduate of the 2023 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Sale where White Type Stables selected her out of the Blue River Bloodstock consignment for $35,000.
Dancing N Dixie is by Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Neolithic out of Foolhearted Woman, by Uncaptured. Dancing N Dixie, who was bred in Florida by the late Freddie Hyatt, is the only winner for Foolhearted Woman. Foolhearted Woman has an unraced 2-year-old filly, Morning Brew, by Curlin’s Honor; and a yearling colt, Freddie’s Honor, by Curlin’s Honor.
Brock Sheridan contributed to this report
Return to the June 29 issue of Wire to Wire
Florida
Man left in critical condition after being attacked by shark that he caught while fishing in Florida
![Man left in critical condition after being attacked by shark that he caught while fishing in Florida](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/84678309.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024)
A man was left in critical condition by a shark attack, suffering a severe bite to his right forearm while he was fishing in Florida yesterday morning.
The man, who is in his 40s, was on a boat off Fernandina Beach, north of Jacksonville, caught the shark while fishing and tossed the fish back in the water after it bit him, Action News Jax reported.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit received a distress call over its emergency radio at 11:15 a.m. and when they reached the boat, they found the man had “lost a lot of blood,” according to a Facebook video the sheriff posted.
“Upon arrival, NCSO deputies found the victim with a critical injury. Acting swiftly, a deputy boarded the vessel and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding,” NCSO said on Facebook.
“The victim was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital. He is currently listed in critical condition but is expected to recover.”
Nassau County, Florida, is about 150 miles north of Volusia County, considered the “shark bite capital of the world,” where there were 17 bites in 2021, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.
Individuals in the state suffered 16 attacks last year, or 44% of all of the attacks in the US.
Florida
South Florida Football: Is Byrum Brown A Heisman Long Shot?
![South Florida Football: Is Byrum Brown A Heisman Long Shot?](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6000,h_3375,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/g5_football_daily/01j1hx2ceysk87420hqg.jpg)
One intriguing storyline to follow throughout the 2023 college football season was the dramatic improvement of the South Florida Bulls under Alex Golesh. In Golesh’s first season as the program’s head coach, the Bulls improved to 7-6 after a 1-11 season in 2022.
A big reason for that was the emergence of sophomore quarterback Byrum Brown. The 6’3″ 209-pound North Carolina native already owns 12 program records at USF. While he may be a Heisman long shot, it’s impossible to deny his impact on the program.
EA Sports College Football 25: Memphis Tigers Rank #19 In Game’s Top Offenses
In 2023, Brown and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels were the only players to post at least 3,000 yards passing and 800 yards rushing. Now, Bet365 gives Brown 250/1 odds to win a Heisman of his own.
Brown is not the only G5 player listed by the sportsbook and is not the G5 player with the highest odds to win the trophy. Those odds belong to Liberty’s Kaidon Salter.
RECRUITING: P4 Target Lineman Chooses South Florida
Last season, Brown averaged 253.2 passing yards per game, going over 300-yards in a game four times. Only 19 years old, Brown’s best days are likely ahead of him as well.
South Florida are set to open the 2024 campaign on August 31 at 7 PM against Bethune Cookman.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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