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Florida abortion measure meets signature requirements

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Florida abortion measure meets signature requirements


TALLAHASSEE – Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring abortion rights in Florida have submitted enough valid petition signatures to get on the November ballot, a key step in what could become the state’s biggest political battle this year.

The Florida Division of Elections website Friday morning showed that 910,946 valid signatures had been tallied for the proposal, which is sponsored by the political committee Floridians Protecting Freedom. That topped a requirement of submitting 891,523 signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Also, Floridians Protecting Freedom met a requirement to meet signature thresholds in at least half of the state’s 28 congressional districts. Unofficial totals on the Division of Elections website showed that the committee exceeded the thresholds in 17 of the 28 districts.

Now, the focus will shift to the Florida Supreme Court, which has to sign off on the wording of proposed ballot initiatives. The court has scheduled a Feb. 7 hearing on the abortion initiative, which Attorney General Ashley Moody and other opponents are trying to keep off the ballot.

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“Make no mistake: we will put abortion on the ballot in 2024 and take back the rights that have been stolen,” Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie, said Friday in a post on the social-media site X.

But Moody and the other opponents are urging the Supreme Court to block the measure, contending it would be misleading to voters – an argument that initiative supporters dispute.

The Supreme Court will review the proposed ballot summary and title, the wording that voters see when they go to the polls. The proposed ballot summary says, in part: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

Moody and other opponents have raised a series of objections, including contending that the word “viability” can have multiple meanings.

Floridians Protecting Freedom announced the initiative in May after the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a law that could prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The six-week limit is contingent on the outcome of a legal battle about a 15-week abortion limit that DeSantis and lawmakers passed in 2022. The 15-week case also is pending at the Florida Supreme Court.

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The proposed constitutional amendment has come amid the backdrop of ballot fights in other states after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling left abortion decisions to states.

If the Florida Supreme Court signs off on the wording, the Floridians Protecting Freedom initiative is almost certain to spur a fierce – and expensive – political battle. The six-week limit approved this spring by lawmakers and DeSantis would largely halt abortions in Florida, where a reported 72,087 abortions were performed during the first 11 months of 2023, according to state Agency for Health Care Administration data.

The petition-gathering process is complicated and costly, and Floridians for Protecting Freedom faced a Feb. 1 deadline for meeting the requirements. It had raised $8.91 million for the initiative as of Sept. 30, while spending $8.79 million as it worked to collect signatures. It will have to file an updated finance report by a Wednesday deadline.

The signature totals posted Friday morning on the Division of Elections website showed that the largest number of valid signatures, 54,277, had been collected in Congressional District 14 in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Meanwhile, 45,673 had been collected in Congressional District 10 in Orange County, and 45,268 had been collected in Congressional District 21 in Martin, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.

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Miami, FL

Motorcyclist killed in crash on Biscayne Boulevard, deputies say

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Motorcyclist killed in crash on Biscayne Boulevard, deputies say


A motorcyclist was killed in a crash in northeast Miami-Dade on Tuesday morning, deputies said.

The crash happened on Biscayne Boulevard near Northeast 127th Street and involved a vehicle and a motorcycle, Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office officials said.

The driver of the motorcycle was pronounced dead at the scene. Their identity was not released.

The condition of the driver in the vehicle was also not released.

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Aerial footage from Chopper 6 showed a yellow tarp covering the body next to the damaged vehicle. The motorcycle was on the ground nearby surrounded by debris.

All southbound lanes on Biscayne Boulevard from Northeast 126th Street to 128th Street have been closed.

The crash was under investigation.



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‘Confident’ Bencic takes out Anisimova, eyes Gauff next in Miami

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‘Confident’ Bencic takes out Anisimova, eyes Gauff next in Miami


A “super clean and confident” performance from Belinda Bencic earned her an upset of one Top 10-ranked American at the Miami Open on Monday night — and she’s hoping that form carries over into another in less than 24 hours.

Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The No. 12 seed led nearly wire-to-wire in a 6-2, 6-2 thumping of No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova to put her through to a 12th career WTA 1000 quarterfinal, and second in Miami after she reached the 2022 semifinals. She’ll face another Florida resident, No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, on Tuesday night in the hopes of matching her tournament best from four years ago.

Bencic had good reason to praise her play against Anisimova, in a match that was projected to be a late-afternoon affair but ended up taking the court at 9 p.m. after three of the four matches preceding it on Grandstand stretched to three sets. She landed 87% of her first serves, winning 72% of those points, and hit 19 winners in 14 games to break a 2-2 head-to-head tie against the two-time Grand Slam singles finalist.

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She saved the only break point she faced, too, which came when she was already ahead 6-2, 4-1. 

Bencic next looks to complete a personal Sunshine Double of sorts against Gauff as she eyes back-to-back Top 10 victories on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Though the American has won four of their previous six meetings, Bencic’s most-recent win came in the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open last year.

More to come…

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Miami-Dade trainer helps young athletes chase their next big opportunity

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Miami-Dade trainer helps young athletes chase their next big opportunity


KENDALL, Fla. — With March Madness underway and Division I athletes back in the spotlight, the level of training it takes to compete at the top of college sports is getting plenty of attention.

In Kendall, one coach is working every day to help young athletes reach that level.

Kevin Lopez is the fitness director at D1 Training Kendall, where the focus is helping athletes get stronger, faster and more confident.

For Lopez, the work is personal. His own athletic career started with a similar opportunity growing up in Miami.

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“I got trained by a guy down here in Miami who focused on strength and conditioning, specifically for athletes — for kids that are trying develop, improve and go to college,” Lopez said. “It allowed me to be one of the top receivers in that year for our district, which gave me opportunities to go play at Iowa.”

That experience changed his path and ultimately brought him back home.

Now Lopez says his mission is to give other athletes the same type of chance.

“I want to try and help out as many people as I can, to give them that same opportunity, or at least get them as close as they can to reach that if that’s a goal that they have for themselves,” he said.

Inside the gym at D1 Kendall, the training goes well beyond basic workouts.

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“We focus on lateral movements, we focus on their agility, their quickness, we focus on building that upper body strength as well,” he said.

Just as important, he says, is helping athletes stay healthy and confident.

“A lot of kids are coming in to build their confidence,” Lopez said. “It’s not just to improve their speed, their agility, their quickness to transition over to the field or to the court.”

The gym has also become a place where athletes feel comfortable pushing themselves.

“We’re just trying to build a community around here,” Lopez said. “We’re trying to expand and touch as many people, as many athletes, as many adults as we can.”

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“This is a home for them,” he added. “And they have somewhere they’re going to come, feel at ease, not feel intimidated.”

To learn more about D1 Kendall, visit their website.

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