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Florida removes LGBTQ+ travel info from state tourism website

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Florida removes LGBTQ+ travel info from state tourism website

Florida’s tourism marketing agency recently removed the “LGBTQ Travel” section from its website. 

The change was made to the “Visit Florida” website sometime in the last few months, the Associated Press reported. 

NBC News, which first reported the news, found that LGBTQ+ listings still populate even though the section has been deleted. The link where the LGBTQ Travel page was now directs users to a general “things to do” landing page, NBC reported, and it’s not clear when the section was removed, although it was still accessible in mid-April.

The “Visit Florida” website is a public-private partnership between the state of Florida and the state’s tourism industry, the AP reported. Florida contributes around $50 million from two tourism and economic development funds per year. 

The LGBTQ+ section of the website previously read: “There’s a sense of freedom to Florida’s beaches, the warm weather and the myriad activities — a draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance,” according to the AP.

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Florida’s tourism marketing agency recently removed the “LGBTQ Travel” section from its website, according to the Associated Press.  (Getty Images)

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been at the forefront of the culture wars, signing into law legislation that restricted discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, as well as laws that ban minors from attending live performances of drag shows and prohibit anyone under age 18 from undergoing sex-reassignment surgeries or taking cross-sex hormones to treat gender dysphoria, which are both currently blocked amid ongoing litigation. 

In the wake of such laws, several civil rights groups issued a travel advisory for Florida, describing DeSantis and Florida lawmakers as “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”

Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and St. Petersburg are all top U.S. destinations for the LGBTQ+ community, the AP reported.

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DeSantis dismissed the “stunt” in May, claiming recent tourist travel data shows Florida has never been more popular for all travelers.

Florida beach

Florida is among the top tourist destinations in the country.   (iStock)

“As Governor DeSantis announced … Florida is seeing record-breaking tourism,” DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern told Fox News Digital in 2023. “This is nothing more than a stunt.” 

Visit Florida CEO Dana Young previously told Fox News Digital that Florida is “one of the safest places in the country” and has been ranked as having among the most Black-owned businesses of any state.

“Tourism is our number one industry, and we are diverse and welcoming to everyone. We don’t discriminate on any basis. We welcome everyone to our state,” Young said. “Many of our destinations in the state have huge Pride festivals, and, you know, I think the diversity of our state is one of the reasons that people enjoy coming.”

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Visit Florida for comment, but did not immediately hear back. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

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27 states press SCOTUS to halt Biden ATF’s 'blatant attack' on gun owners, claiming end-run around Congress

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27 states press SCOTUS to halt Biden ATF’s 'blatant attack' on gun owners, claiming end-run around Congress

West Virginia and Montana led 27 states Wednesday that filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court urging the court to “rein in” the Biden administration’s new frame or receiver rule.

The states, through their attorneys general, alleged the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ new rule essentially broadening the definition of “firearm” to include gun parts (like frames and receivers) is an “overreach.”

“[W]hen the Court encounters another ATF regulation offering a purportedly creative solution to a long-standing problem, it should be wary,” the filing states. The rule has also been characterized as a “ghost gun” crackdown.

“And in this brief, Amici (party) States describe some of the specific machinations ATF has used in the past to get to its desired results — erasing ordinary meaning, stripping words from context, ignoring comments, short-circuiting APA requirements, and blinding itself to the real-world consequences of its own actions.”

WATCH: LAWMAKERS INVOKE HUNTER BIDEN, SECOND AMENDMENT IN DEFENSE OF GUN LAWS

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ATF agents continue their investigation at a FedEx site after an explosion March 20, 2018, in Schertz, Texas.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

After filing the brief, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said states must step up when the feds politicize regulations.

“When the Biden administration continues deploying our federal agencies to further its political agenda, rest assured the states will spring into action to prevent this kind of abhorrent overreach,” he said.

“Here again is an example of how the Biden administration uses bureaucratic agencies, this time the ATF, to act as legislators instead of enforcing the laws Congress passed.”

In the brief, Morrisey, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the other litigants admit that guns in the wrong hands can be dangerous, but Congress is the body that should decide policy and address risks from a particular product.

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“Neither the ATF nor this court can impose naked policy preferences, especially so on hot-button issues like these,” added Morrisey, who is also the GOP’s nominee for governor against Huntington Mayor Stephen Williams.

OBAMA JUDGE’S RULING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OWNING GUNS HELPS THE LEFT BLUR THE LINES OF CITIZENSHIP: RUBIO

Merrick Garland testifies

Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Department of Justice June 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.  (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

For his part, Knudsen added separately that the ATF rule constitutes another “blatant attack on Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.”

“The Biden-Harris administration is dead set on taking firearms from law-abiding citizens and unlawfully using the ATF to do so. As attorney general, I will continue to fight federal overreach and protect Montanans’ rights.”

The new rule “exceeds the limits of what this agency could do, all to advance this administration’s anti-Second Amendment agenda,” Morrisey further added in a statement.

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Previously, George W. Bush-appointed federal Judge Reed O’Connor sided with plaintiff Jennifer VanDerStok in 2022, enacting a preliminary injunction against the rule.

The Supreme Court ultimately issued a stay against the injunction, allowing the rule to remain in effect amid the litigation.

VanDerStok is a magazine writer and a former law enforcement officer, according to the Mountain States Legal Foundation, who argued in a column that prior to the mass production of guns, guns were often manufactured by the user.

Patrick Morrisey

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

“The right to craft and customize firearms enables us to determine which arms we will ‘keep and bear,’” the column argued, citing Second Amendment text.

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“Technological changes don’t change our rights, and the American People still have a constitutionally protected natural right to craft and customize guns,” it added.

Critics have also alleged the new ATF rule wrongly interprets the Gun Control Act of 1968.

The Supreme Court previously announced its full bench will take up the case in the future.

The Justice Department declined comment. The ATF did not respond to a separate inquiry.

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Cuban sandwich born in Tampa, Florida, is now an American culinary classic

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Cuban sandwich born in Tampa, Florida, is now an American culinary classic

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The beloved Cuban sandwich is a delicious all-American culinary creation first served in Tampa, Florida, more than a century ago, according to proud local lore.

It’s a savory, mouthwatering mix — often called a “mixto” — of three kinds of pork, paired with cheese, pickles and mustard, on fresh-baked local bread. No wonder there’s a full day dedicated to it (August 23 is National Cuban Sandwich Day). 

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It’s flavored by an array of cultures that helped build Tampa into a jewel of the Gulf of Mexico. 

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The sandwiches reportedly fueled the hard-working, and often Cuban-born, cigar factory workers in Tampa’s historic neighborhood of Ybor City in decades past. Cuban sandwiches are now served in takeout shops, delis, pubs and restaurants from coast to coast.

“There is a debate over who invented it first, Tampa or Miami,” Tampa food Instagram influencer Kiera Andrews (@thisbabeeats) told Fox News Digital. 

The founder of a Tampa, Florida, restaurant is credited with inventing the Cuban sandwich as it’s known today. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

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Others claim it originated in Havana or Key West. 

Cubans traditionally ate “mixto” sandwiches, but the version known today is a Tampa creation, according to experts.

“I will tell you this,” Andrews said. “I’ve had Cuban sandwiches in other cities. And there’s nothing that compares to a Cuban sandwich in Tampa.”

“There’s nothing that compares to a Cuban sandwich in Tampa.” 

One of the secrets, she said, is the traditional Cuban bread baked at La Segunda Central Bakery, which opened in Ybor City in 1915. 

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It supplies restaurants and retailers throughout the region. 

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Bakeries, restaurants — even the museum of longtime Ybor City cigar-maker J.C. Newman — sport murals and billboards highlighting the global inspirations that make Tampa’s Cuban sandwiches a delicious example of America’s unique culinary melting pot. 

Cuban sandwich flavors

A sign at La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City, Tampa, touts the multicultural flavors found in the original Cuban sandwich, with influences from Cuba, Spain, Italy and Germany. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

They boast Cuban pork, Spanish ham, Italian salami, German pickles and mustard and Swiss cheese — all cultures that have a historic presence together in Tampa — served on soft, airy Cuban bread.

“It represents all the different cultures that make Ybor City such a great place,” Casey Gonzmart Jr., the fifth-generation owner of Tampa dining landmark Columbia Restaurant, told Fox News Digital. 

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TAMPA’S BEST CUBAN FOOD

The eatery was founded by his Spanish-Cuban immigrant great-great-grandfather Casimiro Hernandez Sr. in 1905. 

Ybor City is best known for its Cuban-Spanish culture and cigar-making history. 

But it’s also the traditional home of Tampa’s Italian community. 

“The Cuban sandwich represents all the different cultures that make Ybor City such a great place.” 

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The L’Unione Italiana, the Italian Club of Tampa, traces its roots to 1894 and sits just three blocks from Columbia Restaurant. 

“We can’t tell the true history of the Ybor City without paying homage to the Italians,” Gonzmart said.

Casey Gonzmart Jr.

Casey Gonzmart Jr. is part of the fifth generation of owners of Tampa dining landmark Columbia Restaurant. His great-great-grandfather Casimiro Hernandez Sr. founded the restaurant in 1905 — and is credited by many as the creator of the original Tampa Cuban sandwich. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

Columbia Restaurant features colorful murals of the sailing ships of Christopher Columbus — the Italian mariner who ventured to the New World on behalf of the Spanish crown. 

Food & Wine Magazine named Columbia Restaurant’s original Cuban the best sandwich in Florida. It even credits Columbia Restaurant founder Hernandez Sr. for inventing the multicultural American delicacy.

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SANDWICH QUIZ! HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THESE FACTS ABOUT THE POPULAR GRAB-AND-GO MEAL?

“He hoped it would honor the contributions of the many immigrants who breathed life into the Ybor City neighborhood, where the restaurant was located, and the city of Tampa in general,” Food & Wine wrote in its coronation of the Columbia Cuban.

The restaurant still makes its Cuban sandwich the same way it has done at least since 1915, including using bread from nearby La Segunda Central Bakery, a company spokesman told Fox News Digital. 

Tampa bakery

La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City, Tampa, was founded in 1915. Its fresh-baked Cuban bread is considered essential to the perfect traditional Cuban sandwich. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

Tampa Instagram foodie Andrews cites several other can’t-miss Cuban sandwiches in Tampa. 

No-frills, cash-only West Sandwich Tampa Shop “feels like one of the first places that would have served the Cuban,” she said. 

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La Segunda, Tampa’s landmark bakery, has a take-out sandwich shop at its original Ybor City location.

Here, guests can order original Cubans and various versions of the original, along with amazing traditional Cuban pastries and sweets.

The Boozy Pig boasts a delicious Cuban breakfast sandwich served with eggs, while Wicked Oak Barbeque offers a “Que-ban” sandwich made with slow-smoked pulled pork and housemade mustard barbeque. 

Cuban sandwich

La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City, Tampa, bakes bread for commercial and retail sale but also has a sandwich and pastry shop selling Cuban sandwiches.  (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

“Miami, for its part, added an innovation: the iron press, which gives the Cubano a thin look and crunchy feel that a lot of people now recognize it for,” NPR wrote in a 2022 interview with the authors of the book, “The Cuban Sandwich: A History In Layers.”

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For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle

Cuban sandwiches in Tampa traditionally come only on fresh bread — unpressed yet impressive in flavor and in American culinary lore. 

The Tampa City Council named the Cuban the city’s “signature sandwich” in a 2012 proclamation.

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Riley Gaines, NCAA athletes to testify in Georgia about competing against, sharing locker room with Lia Thomas

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Riley Gaines, NCAA athletes to testify in Georgia about competing against, sharing locker room with Lia Thomas

FIRST ON FOX: Five NCAA All-American Women Athletes, including OutKick.com contributor Riley Gaines, will testify in Georgia about their experience competing against and sharing a locker room with a biological male.

Earlier this month, the Georgia state Senate established a Special Select Committee on Women’s Sports to analyze the issue of biological males competing against female athletes.

Fox News Digital learned that the first topic of the committee’s inquiry will focus on the 2022 National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, where biological male swimmer, Lia Thomas, competed for the University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming team.

The hearings will feature testimony from Riley Gaines, the host of “Gaines for Girls” who competed against and eventually tied with Thomas, who identifies as a woman, in the 200-yard NCAA championships. 

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Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines (L) testifies during a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2023, in Washington, DC.  (Drew Angerer)

In addition to competing, Gaines and other women involved in the tournament will reportedly recall being forced to share a locker room with Thomas.

Also testifying will be athletes Reka Gyorgy, Kylee Alons, Grace Countie, and Kaitlynn Wheeler — all members of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in March alleging the association knowingly violated Title IX in allowing Thomas to compete.

SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN BIDEN-HARRIS TITLE IX CHANGE THAT SOME ARGUED WOULD ALLOW MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

The women athletes will reportedly “explain how they were harmed by the actions of Georgia Tech University and the NCAA and what must be done to protect women in the future,” according to their lead attorney, William Bock III.

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Reka Gyorgy at the NCAAs

Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy swims the 400 IM consolation finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“My priority is to ensure that female athletes across Georgia have the right to compete on a fair and level playing field, and I will not waver on this effort,” Lt. Governor Burt Jones, R-Ga., said in an announcement of the special committee. “We will not stand idly by while radical politicians, athletic associations, schools and higher education institutions push policies threatening this right.”

The first hearing will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at the Georgia State Capitol.

Georgia Tech University and the NCAA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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