TALLAHASSEE, Fla — Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Tuesday, stating gold and silver coins can be used as legal currency in the state of Florida.

HB 999 states, “the person who claims the sales tax exemption bears the burden for determining whether the gold or silver coin meets a specified definition.” Retailers can determine if they would like to accept the coins as payment in their establishments.

The bill states that the coins must be minted and stamped to indicate their purity. Purchases of the metals would also be exempt from sales taxes.

HB 999 was first filed in Feb. 2025 and was passed by the Senate in April 2025. The House passed the bill on May 23 before it made its way to the governor’s desk on May 27.

The bill will take effect on July 1, 2026.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – University of Florida scientists discovered two different termite species are breeding to create a hybrid termite. 

The backstory:

A new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study confirms that hybrid termite colonies have been established in South Florida. Researchers told FOX 13 these hybrid termites are the result of Formosan subterranean termites and Asian subterranean termites coexisting and mating with each other. 

“This is kind of a crazy story to look into, that the two most destructive termites in the world are hybridizing here in Florida — which is not great news, I’ll be honest with you,” said Thomas Chouvenc, associate professor of urban entomology at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center and lead author of the study. “It’s going to have evolutionary consequences over the long term.”

Studies to learn more about these hybrid termites – and their potential – are still in the works, he added. 

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“It’s not going to be a super termite like some would like to call it, but the reality is, even if it’s a mule, it can still give a good kick, I would argue,” Chouvenc told FOX 13. “So the potential (to cause) damage is probably kind of the same as either the Formosan or the Asian subterranean termite.”

In order to have hybrid termites, both parent termites must live in the same area. This UF/IFAS termite map shows a large presence of both Formosan subterranean termites and Asian subterranean termites in southeast Florida. 

What they’re saying:

“We went for genetic analysis, and we confirmed that, yes, these winged termites had half the genes from one species and half the other one. And we have been able to confirm this in 2022, in 2023, 2024, and also this year in April, where we collected these hybrid wing termites,” Chouvenc said. “This tells us that now we have established hybrid colonies in the field in southeast Florida.”

That same UF/IFAS map shows the presence of both termite species in the Bay Area, too. 

“We expect that it may just be a matter of time before the hybrid termites between the two is also established in Tampa,” Chouvenc said. 

According to the map, Asian subterranean termites have been reported in South Tampa close to MacDill Air Force Base near the water. Chouvenc told FOX 13 he suspects they got there after infecting a boat, because his studies have also shown that water vessels can unknowingly spread these insects. 

“It is remarkable how much termites can find a way to survive in these boats as long as there’s sufficient amount of wood and there’s enough moisture,” Chouvenc said. “And if you have a boat, you know there’s going to be moisture on your boat somewhere at some point.”

Both boat, and homeowners are encouraged to always keep an eye out for evidence of termites on their property. 

Why you should care:

“The hybridization may not be a problem for us in the short term. It may be kind of a quirky biological story to tell,” Chouvenc told FOX 13. “But the reality is, if we look at the very long term, these populations that have mixed genetic lineages may inherit the good genes from both species.”

“It’s a good time to remind homeowners in Florida that termites are part of our reality,” he added. 

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Nearly a dozen people, including two children, were hospitalized after a boat explosion and fire in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Memorial Day evening, officials said.

The incident was reported around 5:45 p.m. Monday near the New River Triangle, not far from the Lauderdale Yacht Club on Southeast 12th Court.

U.S. Coast Guard officials said there were 13 people on board the boat when there was an explosion.

“For reasons that we don’t know yet, a boat exploded, it tossed people into the water, good Samaritans came over right away and started rescuing them,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue spokesman Frank Guzman said. “It’s too soon to know how this happened. We have a fire investigator on scene, as well.”

Footage from a surveillance camera captured the moment the fireball erupted on the boat, and showed multiple people spilling into the water.

Guzman confirmed there were 11 patients, including two children, who were initially taken to Broward Health Medical Center.

“A number of the patients had significant burns and are being transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where they have a burn unit,” Guzman said. “A lot of them had burns to much of their body.”

Officials at Jackson Memorial said they received 10 patients, including eight adults who were in good condition and two children who were in fair condition. One patient had to be intubated.

Antonio Rivero said he was with family members on the boat when it went up in flames.

“Tried to fuel up the boat, and must have been a gas leak and, you know, spark went off and explosion,” Rivero said. “One of the guys’ pants were blown off, so it was bad.”

Rivero, 32, suffered burns to his arm, but his wife, Cassandra, and their two children remained hospitalized Monday night.

“They’re OK because they’re on a lot of meds, but other than that they’re fine,” he said.

At least one witness reported seeing an explosion and said they saw multiple people with burn injuries who were brought to the yacht club docks.

The victims had burned legs and bathing suits that appeared ripped and burned to shreds, the witness said.

Two other witnesses said they were on a dinghy at the sandbar when the boat exploded.

“When they went to start their boat up, it just exploded. There was a huge fireball and people were kind of falling off the boat,” Bret Triano said. “We were at the sandbar too and we just tried to go help out.”

Triano and Marisa Toomesn were able to rescue some of the victims.

“There were a couple boats trying to pick people up and one guy just didn’t get picked up so we went over to him,” Triano said. “He was screaming.”

“He was burned pretty badly,” Toomesn said.

“He was saying, ‘Save me. Please, don’t let me die. I’m so hot, I need water,’” Triano said. “He just kept repeating, ‘I want water, I want water.’”

Aerial footage from Chopper 6 showed Fort Lauderdale Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Broward Sheriff’s Office assisting Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

Crews were seen examining the boat involved, which was tied up to a nearby sea wall.

Guzman said crews also rescued a dog that had been on the boat that wasn’t injured.

The FWC and fire officials will investigate the cause of the explosion.