Florida
Ken Griffin pledges $12 million to defeat recreational pot legalization in Florida
Ken Griffin is making a major push to defeat a ballot amendment that seeks to legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida.
The billionaire financier has pledged $12 million to oppose the measure, according to spokesman Zia Ahmed. The constitutional amendment will be decided by voters in November and needs at least 60% approval to pass.
In an opinion article published Friday in the Miami Herald, Griffin argued that the proposed amendment would create a monopoly for large marijuana dispensaries and allow cannabis use in public and private areas across Florida.
In addition to his anti-legalization efforts, Griffin is also contributing $8 million to committes funding Republican candidates running for the Florida legislature, Ahmed said.
The founder of Citadel and Citadel Securities, who relocated from Chicago to Miami in 2022, has been wielding his $42 billion fortune to influence Florida’s political landscape and to fund philanthropic causes.
Earlier this year, he condemned a proposed casino expansion in South Florida, likening it to “dumping toxic waste into the Everglades.” Legislators buried it soon after. Last year, he played a key role in watering down a proposal restricting real estate purchases by Chinese nationals, before it was enacted. In June, he gave $500,000 to back the reelection campaign of Miami-Dade County’s Democratic mayor, Daniella Levine Cava.
“I have lived the nightmare of misguided politicians in other states whose policies are destroying jobs, fostering crime, ravaging schools, and damaging communities,” Griffin said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “I am committed to supporting policies and principles that will further elevate Florida as the greatest place to live, work, and raise a family in America.”
In the opinion piece, Griffin argued that legalizing recreational marijuana will primarily benefit special interests, while leading to more “dangerous roads, a higher risk of addiction among our youth, and an increase in crime.”
So far, more money has gone into Florida’s referendum on legalizing weed, known as Amendment 3, than any other ballot measure in the US this year, according to OpenSecrets, a non-partisan campaign finance group.
Safe & Smart, a political committee in support of legalization, has raised $66.7 million, according to Florida finance disclosures.
A recent University of North Florida poll found 64% of Floridians support legalization. However, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who has received political contributions from Griffin, has voiced strong opposition, warning that legalization would lead to an increase in marijuana use similar to that in cities like San Francisco and Chicago.
“We cannot have every town smelling like marijuana. We cannot have every hotel, theme parks smelling,” DeSantis said in June. “It’s going to be everywhere.”
Florida
Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip
Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.
“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.
“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.
Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”
The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.
“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”
That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse awoke at 6:30 a.m. He declined a last meal and has remained compliant throughout the day, corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said during a news conference. Kearse met with a spiritual adviser during the day but had no other visitors.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Kearse’s final appeals Tuesday afternoon without comment.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
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