Florida
Florida attorney general set to ask state Supreme Court to keep abortion protections off the ballot
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s attorney general is expected to ask the state Supreme Court to keep an abortion-rights measure off November’s ballot on Wednesday, saying it misleads voters and could be used to expand abortion rights in the future.
Proponents of the proposed amendment say the language is clear and concise and that Attorney General Ashley Moody is playing politics instead of letting voters decide whether to protect access to abortions.
The case will be a test on whether Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed five of the seven judges, has changed the direction of a court that in past years has interpreted a privacy clause in the state constitution to strike down some abortion restrictions. No decision is expected Wednesday.
The proposed amendment would allow abortions to remain legal until the fetus is viable. Moody has argued that abortion rights proponents and opponents have differing interpretations as to what viability means. Those differences along with the failure to define “health” and “health-care provider,” are enough to deceive voters and potentially open a box of legal questions in the future, she previously told the court.
The arguments come as both sides of the abortion debate wait for the Florida Supreme Court to rule on whether to uphold a 15-week abortion ban passed two years ago. Last year, lawmakers went further and passed a ban at six weeks, which is before many women even know they are pregnant, but it won’t take effect if the court throws out the 2022 ban signed by DeSantis.
If the question is allowed on the ballot, 60% of voters would have to approve it.
Any change in abortion access in Florida would be felt out of state as well because the Sunshine State traditionally has been a haven for women in the southeastern U.S. seeking abortions. Nearby Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and Georgia has a ban on terminating pregnancies after cardiac activity can be detected.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Gulf system to bring downpours to Florida
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber is continuing to watch an area in the Gulf that is expected to bring much-needed rain to Florida this weekend. He said the system will likely drift to the north and northwest and will linger before heading to the northeast. He said to get a tropical depression, or a tropical storm there needs to be winds and a closed low and he is not seeing that in the models yet. Weber is also tracking a system off the coast of Africa that has a 10% chance of developing over the next week. He says it will likely enter a hostile environment and dissipate.
TAMPA, Fla. – Forecasters are tracking a broad disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast that could bring much-needed rain to parched communities this weekend.
Gulf tropical development potential
What we know:
Models continue to indicate there is a potential for an area of low pressure to form over the northeast Gulf off the west coast of Florida over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center says an area in the Gulf has a 30% chance of tropical development over the next seven days.
Models a shifting away from the forecast of the system moving over the state and off the coast of the Carolinas. Models are now indicating a more likely scenario that it lingers in the Gulf over the weekend and may drift more to the northwest near the Florida Panhandle or Louisiana coast. Early next week conditions look like they will become less conducive and may prohibit much development. Regardless of whether it organizes, the system will bring tropical downpours and increased moisture across Florida and parts of the Southeast.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber states we are close to 7.50″ below average on our rainfall in Tampa for the year. A weak area of low pressure or tropical system can be beneficial in helping to make up for the rainfall deficit we have been experiencing. Drought conditions continue over much of the state of Florida. If this system ends up drifting more westward, it would limit the total amount of rainfall and the highest totals would be along the immediate west coast.
Atlantic tropical development potential
A tropical wave southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands remains disorganized.
It is moving west-northwest and, according to the NHC, there is a chance for slow development over the next day or two. By the weekend it is expected to move into less conducive conditions and Saharan dust will begin to affect this wave, limiting its moisture. The time for this system to develop is very limited and will not develop after the weekend.
The NHC is giving it a 10% chance of developing.
Weather factors and storm names
What we don’t know:
Officials cannot yet confirm if the disturbance will overcome environmental hurdles like land interaction, wind shear and dry air. Computer models remain uncertain on how much this system will develop over the waters of the Gulf. If it stays over the warm waters of the Gulf longer, it may give it additional time to organize. Interactions with land and wind shear will likely pose obstacles in further development.
To become a tropical system, it must develop a defined circulation with organized thunderstorms. If it reaches maximum sustained winds of 39 mph, it will become a tropical storm and be named Bertha.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13Meteorologist Jim Weber, the National Hurricane Center tropical weather outlooks, as well as forecast computer models.
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – If you felt shaking along Florida’s east coast on Thursday, you’re not alone. But it wasn’t an earthquake.
A strong “experimental explosion” was reported in the waters off Central Florida on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS website indicates that the explosion happened around 3:04 p.m., roughly 91 miles east-northeast of Ponce Inlet.
Per the agency, the event registered a preliminary magnitude of 3.9. However, few other details about what may have caused the explosion have been provided at this time.
“The recorded ground motions from this event are more typical of an explosion than a naturally occurring earthquake,” the USGS website reads. “The Navy has conducted Full Ship Shock Trials in this region in the past.”
[A LOOK BACK: U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford performs shock trials on an aircraft carrier in 2021]
News 6 has reached out to Navy officials for more information and is awaiting additional details.
Anyone who felt the impact of the explosion is urged to report their experience here.
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
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