The panel that runs public universities in Florida is set to meet Monday to approve a one-year ban on hiring new foreign faculty through the H1-B visa system — a move critics said could harm research and education in the state.

Florida’s House voted late Wednesday to establish the American flamingo as the new state bird, a step toward knocking the mockingbird off its perch after nearly a century. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the Senate will go along with the plan.

Florida executed its first prisoner of 2026 Tuesday evening, a man twice convicted in separate murders 12 years apart and who stabbed a robbery victim in the neck with a hunting knife while his brother shot the man three times.

Florida lawmakers are considering bills that would broaden the conditions under which domestic violence victims can receive an order of protection to include threats made against their pets.

The University of Florida said Thursday it was investigating two college classrooms where measles exposures may have occurred. Additionally, six other confirmed measles cases were reported across northern Florida in new data published by the Florida Department of Health.

A commercial license grants weekday access to the bay and a harvest quota up to 31 bags each.

What will happen to Florida’s ban on TikTok now that there’s a U.S.-China deal remains uncertain, but it may be too soon for students and government workers to expect they’ll be able to open their “FYP” on the social media platform in classrooms or on state-owned phones or tablets.

A fierce gun battle between a suspected shooter and police unfolded during Wednesday morning’s rush hour near one of the city’s busiest intersections. The gunman and a man believed to be his victim died. Two officers were wounded in the shoot-out.

With consequential U.S. midterms approaching, and his own future plans unknown after he leaves office next January, the governor steered away from addressing upcoming elections.

Most people who won permits to participate in the first Florida black bear hunt since 2015 came away empty-handed. Of the 172 permits issued for the hunt, which took place from Dec. 6 to 28, only 52 hunters killed a Florida black bear, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission figures.