Florida

College Board's revised AP African American studies course draws new criticism

7:20pm February 01, 2023

The organization released the new curriculum for the Advanced Placement course after Florida rejected the pilot. The revisions removed units on Black feminist literary thought and Black Lives Matter.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state rejected the African American studies course because education "is about the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of ideology or the advancement of a political agenda."

Critics say Florida aims to rewrite history by rejecting African American studies

5:31am January 27, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

"One Governor should not have the power to dictate the facts of U.S. history," Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said of GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' move to ban the Advanced Placement course.

"People across the country should be concerned that legislators and governors across the country are going to do exactly what Florida is doing," says Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones, pictured here in March 2022.

Florida's AP African American studies ban should raise alarm elsewhere, lawmaker says

10:49am January 23, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat, says the proposed course "wasn't indoctrination, it wasn't ideology, it was facts." He fears blocking it will harm students in Florida and beyond.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1973 US Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, in Tallahassee, Fla., on Saturday.

On 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Kamala Harris urges federal abortion protections

2:46pm January 22, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

In a speech delivered on Sunday, the vice president advocated for Congress to take action to protect abortion rights.

Under Gov. Ron DeSantis' leadership, Florida has enacted a slew of education rules that limit teaching topics including race, and sexual orientation.

Florida says AP class teaches critical race theory. Here's what's really in the course

9:16am January 22, 2023

by Juliana Kim

Florida rejected an Advancement Placement course on African American studies, saying it's "filled with" critical race theory. But scholars who helped create the course say it's not in lesson plans.

National

A woman was arrested for killing her terminally ill husband at a Florida hospital

7:52pm January 21, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

Police said the two had made a pact weeks beforehand. She could be charged with first-degree murder.

A killer whale, measuring more than 20 feet, died after beaching itself in Palm Coast, Fla., on Wednesday, authorities said.

First orca whale to be stranded in southeast U.S. in decades showed signs of illness

2:43pm January 13, 2023

by Kaitlyn Radde

A killer whale more than 20 feet long died after beaching itself in Palm Coast, Fla. This is the third known orca to be stranded in the southeastern U.S. and the first since 1956, an official says.

Florida's only baby box launched at a fire station in Ocala on Dec. 18, 2020. For the first time, a newborn was surrendered there recently.

A newborn was surrendered to Florida's only safe haven baby box. Here's how they work

3:46pm January 06, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

A newborn was surrendered recently under a program that lets people give up an unwanted infant anonymously. There are dozens of baby boxes scattered across the U.S., but the practice is controversial.

A freelance producer for ABC News also gathered dirt on critics of a consulting firm's powerful clients.

National

She was an ABC News producer. She also was a corporate operative

9:31am December 21, 2022

An ABC News freelance producer confronted critics of a consulting firm's powerful clients. Her actions confirm people's worst suspicions about the news media, says a former network news president.

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Two regional utilities, Alabama Power and Florida Power & Light, hired the consulting firm Matrix to help shape their fortunes. Matrix paid six news sites that attacked officials who challenged the companies.

National

In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics

1:59pm December 19, 2022

Alabama Power and Florida Power & Light hired the consulting firm Matrix to help shape their fortunes. Matrix funded six sites that covered politics, filling a void left by the decline of local news.