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Florida
Florida elections officials seek flexibility on voting rules after hurricanes
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida’s recent hurricanes could make it difficult for voters in affected areas to cast their ballots in the upcoming election unless Gov. Ron DeSantis waives and modifies some rules, county election supervisors said in a letter to state officials.
In a six-page letter sent Tuesday by the supervisors’ association to Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, who oversees elections, the group said Hurricanes Helene and Milton have destroyed polling sites and left some of their employees, voters and poll workers homeless.
Most of the affected counties are on the Gulf Coast, where both storms caused major damage.
Association Executive Director David Ramba listed 10 modifications for DeSantis to consider including granting extra time for setting up early voting and drop box sites, giving voters flexibility in requesting mail-in ballots and waiving training for some poll workers. State law gives the governor authority to modify voting rules after hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Florida is expecting a large turnout as voters will be casting ballots for not only president and Senate but ballot propositions that would legalize marijuana and overturn the state’s newly enacted ban on abortion six weeks after conception. Early voting starts Monday in some Florida counties and most mail-in ballots have already been sent. The deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot is next week.
Ryan Cox, Ramba’s deputy, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the state’s election supervisors will be able get their polls open and ballots cast if given some flexibility. While Florida long had a reputation as a national laughingstock for its election problems, starting with the 2000 presidential recount, its 2020 and 2022 elections were conducted with almost no problems.
“These supervisors are very, very, very good at working through what they need,” Cox said. “They are very good at making decisions very quickly and modifying what their set plan was to make sure that every single person that wants to vote has an opportunity to do that.”
The group’s letter listed multiple Florida counties that experienced “significant damage” following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, with repeated mentions to counties surrounding Tampa Bay: Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas and Pasco. The letter noted that multiple polling locations have been “destroyed or rendered inaccessible due to flooding and structural damage.”
Byrd’s office not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on whether the state would grant flexibility or accommodations. Byrd is appointed by DeSantis.
Following Helene, DeSantis did issue an executive order allowing counties to make changes to early voting sites and ease mail-in ballot restrictions. But he rejected the supervisors’ request to extend the Oct. 7 voter registration deadline. They said an extension was needed as some areas were cleaning up from Helene while also preparing for Milton.
Amy Keith, Florida executive director for the voting advocacy group Common Cause, said it and other groups have also sent a letter to DeSantis and Byrd asking them to extend the registration deadline because of the storms and to make other voting accommodations in the affected counties.
“I am extremely concerned that during this election, things will prove a lot more complicated for voters and their families who are still recovering from the catastrophic damages from both of these record-breaking storms,” Keith said.
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
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A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”
Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.
Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.
This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.
Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.
The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.
In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”
The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.
In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”
The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion.
Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.
Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.
Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.
The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.
Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.
Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.
Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.
Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.
The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.
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