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
Man saves 6-year-old drowning in Florida pool

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Florida
Florida lawmakers agree to fully fund advanced education programs

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a major breakthrough after months of debate, the U.S. House and Senate have reached an agreement to fully fund advanced education programs, including Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and AICE courses.
The decision comes as a relief to students and educators across Florida, where more than 90 schools offer IB and similar programs to approximately 16,000 students each year.
But at Cypress Creek High School in Orange County, uncertainty remains. Despite the federal funding agreement, the IB program at Cypress Creek may not be offered next school year. The district cites a lack of interest as the reason for phasing out IB and replacing it with the AICE curriculum. However, students say they were left out of the decision-making process and dispute the district’s claims.
“Pre-IB was taken out of our school before IB was taken out, which means that students were not put in classes that are meant to prepare them for the IB program,” said Zoey Salah, a current Cypress Creek student. “This decision was already made before this, before we found out in May and before we could do anything about it.”
Students, staff and alumni, who organized a protest at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, urged district officials to reconsider during a public comment of a Orange County Commision Board Meeting on Tuesday.
“I’m advocating for IB at Cypress Creek High School. Especially because of the opportunity you get to connect with other like-minded individuals academically. It really pushes you to do your best,” said Andres Rodriguez, a Cypress Creek IB alumnus.
If the IB program is eliminated, the nearest high school offering it is 20 miles away, a distance that could put the program out of reach for many Cypress Creek families.
While both IB and AICE are recognized by colleges nationwide, IB is often seen as offering more opportunities, especially for students aiming to study abroad for higher education.
“Especially those who are seeking higher education, like out of state or internationally, that is a huge loss of opportunity for them,” Rodriguez said. “Not just like, oh, this class is a college-level class, or you get college credit from it, you truly do some college-level research—it’s true prep in my opinion.”
As the district weighs its options, Cypress Creek students and supporters say they will continue to fight for a program they believe changes lives.
Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
Florida
Scattered showers, storms across South Florida late morning into the afternoon

Grab an umbrella before you head out the door because scattered showers and storms are in the forecast for Tuesday.
The NEXT Weather team tracked a few showers across the area in the early morning hours, and additional rain is on the way, especially for the late morning through early afternoon.
NEXT Weather
The combination of rain and clouds should help to keep temperatures in the mid to upper 80s across the area, but “feels like” temperatures will climb to the mid to upper 90s.
The chance of rain trends even higher for Wednesday and Thursday as showers will grow more widespread throughout the afternoon hours on both days. While isolated storms with heavy downpours, lightning and strong wind can’t be ruled out, the overall severe weather threat is low.
NEXT Weather
Saharan dust, which hung over South Florida late last week into the weekend, has cleared out, but another round is set to arrive late Thursday into Friday. This next batch of dust is expected to linger throughout the upcoming weekend and will help to reduce the chance of rain to 20% for Sunday – Father’s Day.
Afternoon highs will remain in the upper 80s through the next seven days.
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