Florida
Your Florida Daily: State lawmakers return to Tallahassee, commercial moon lander suffers ‘anomaly’
ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s time to put away the Christmas decorations, Florida.
Strong to severe storms are coming today thanks to a front slicing through the state.
It’s coming south from the Panhandle and working its way across Florida throughout the afternoon and evening.
“So the two main weather impacts that we’re going to focus on are the severe wind risks. It’s showing about a 30% shot at seeing damaging, strong straight-line wind gusts. That means we’re clocking winds an upwards of 60-70 mph,” News 6 meteorologist Candace Campos said.
On the other side of the front is cooler drier weather! Wednesday’s high temperature is going to be in the 60s.
Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee for legislative session
It’s a big day in Tallahassee.
State lawmakers are back at the Capitol to begin the annual legislative session. Over 1,600 bills have been filed for this year’s session.
That includes a proposal that would lower the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns from 21 down to 18.
It would reverse part of a law passed after the deadly school shooting in Parkland in 2018.
Other measures up for debate this year would impact your daily drive including a proposed ban on red light cameras and a proposed fee for electric car owners to offset losses to the gas tax.
Limiting abortions is also back up for discussion. A bill filed Monday would ban almost all abortions in the state except to save the life of the mother.
One thing you may not hear much about is property insurance.
As of right now, Florida leadership is leaving the issue alone. They say they want to give more time for reforms that have already been passed to work.
Tap here to tell us what issues do you think Florida lawmakers should focus on during the legislative session.
Moon landing attempt by US company appears doomed after ‘critical’ fuel leak
Just hours after liftoff on the Space Coast, the moon lander onboard the new Vulcan Centaur rocket ran into big trouble.
The spacecraft was supposed to land on the lunar surface next month but the company behind it, Astrobotic, said it had a propulsion problem.
Teams are working to get as much data as they can from the lander but it’s still not known if it will be able to make it all the way to the moon, officials say.
In other space news, multiple sources are reporting that NASA will announce a big delay in its next mission to the moon.
The Artemis II mission, which aims to send four astronauts on a flyby journey of the moon, was set to lift off in November.
However, NASA is expected to announce the flight won’t take place until 2025.
Random Florida Fact
For those interested in the fascinating history of ocean exploration, check out the Man in the Sea Museum.
It’s located in Panama City Beach and displays a quirky, yet accurate, portrayal of mankind’s attempts at deep sea exploration over the centuries.
You can see early diving bells and diving suit rigs dating back to 1837, as well as prototypes for modern day mini-subs and remote craft.
The parking lot is filled with the collection’s biggest features, including the world’s first working undersea habitat SEALAB-1.
Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
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Florida
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Florida
Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox
The Florida Attorney General’s Office on Thursday, Dec. 11, filed a lawsuit against popular online gaming platform Roblox, accusing the company of failing to protect its millions of underage users from predatory adults who would “find, groom, and abuse children.”
“Roblox aggressively markets to young children, but fails to protect them from sexual predators,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post to X. “As a father of three little ones and as Florida’s attorney general, my number one priority is simple: to protect our kids.”
The lawsuit claims Florida children have been talked into taking and sending sexual images of themselves and lists several recent incidences, including a 20-year-old California man arrested last month for having sexually explicit conversations with a Palm Coast child and asking for nude photos.
A Roblox spokesperson said the lawsuit “fundamentally misrepresents how Roblox works.”
“We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications,” Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement, adding that the company — currently the most downloaded game in the world — will be rolling out additional safeguards “beyond what is required by law and what other platforms do.”
Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox
Can’t see the embedded document? Click here.
What is Roblox?
San Mateo, California-based Roblox, released in 2006, hosts millions of user-created games (or “experiences”) constructed with the platform’s built-in game engine. Any user can create a game and share it with others, and there are millions of games available of all types.
The game platform and most games are free to use, but some cost to play. There is also a thriving economy based on Robux, an in-game virtual currency used to purchase virtual items. Roblox offers a subscription service called Roblox Premium that provides access to more features and a monthly allowance of Roblox.
Voice chat is available, but only for users aged 13 or older with verified ages. Age ratings were introduced for games in 2022, and in 2023, 17+ games were permitted to include more graphic violence, romance, and drinking.
According to Roblox, as of 2020, the monthly playerbase included half of all American children under the age of 16.
Florida
Florida’s complete 2026 football schedule unveiled
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2026 football schedule for the Florida Gators has been set. Next year’s slate was unveiled Thursday night on SEC Network.
The most notable dates are Florida’s SEC opener on Sept. 19 — a Week 3 trip to Auburn, where the Gators haven’t played since 2011 — along with a road game at Texas on Oct. 17 and home games against Ole Miss (Sept. 26) and Oklahoma (Nov. 7).
Next season will mark the Sooners’ first-ever visit to Gainesville. The teams have previously played twice in the postseason, with the Gators defeating Oklahoma 24-14 in their first-ever meeting to win the 2008 national championship.
The Gators open the season in The Swamp on Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic. UF’s other non-conference opponents will be Campbell (Sept. 12) and at Florida State (Nov. 28).
Florida is also hosting South Carolina (Oct. 10) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 21). The Gators haven’t played the Gamecocks or the Commodores since 2023.
UF takes on Georgia in Atlanta on Oct. 31 after the bye week. Florida’s other road games are Missouri (Oct. 3), Texas (Oct. 17) and Kentucky (Nov. 14).
The Gators will be led by first-year coach Jon Sumrall. He won the American Conference title with Tulane last week and has the Green Wave in the College Football Playoffs. They will have a rematch against Ole Miss on Dec. 20 in the first round after losing in Oxford, 45-10, on Sept. 20.
Sumrall was back in Gainesville this week to assemble his staff. So far, he has hired offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, defensive coordinator Brade White and defensive line coach Gerald Chatman.
Date
Opponent
Location
Sept. 5
Florida Atlantic
Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 12
Campbell
Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 19
at Auburn
Auburn, Alabama
Sept. 26
Ole Miss
Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 3
at Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Oct. 10
South Carolina
Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 17
at Texas
Austin, Texas
Oct. 24
Bye
Oct. 31
Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Nov. 7
Oklahoma
Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 14
at Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Nov. 21
Vanderbilt
Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 28
at Florida State
Tallahassee, Florida
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