Voting rights group Equal Ground Education Fund filed a lawsuit against Florida’s newly redrawn congressional map within an hour of Gov. Ron DeSantis signing it into law, arguing the districts violate the state’s Fair Districts Amendments, which prohibit drawing maps for partisan advantage. The governor’s office has maintained the map was drawn using political data rather than racial data. Headlines from the Gainesville Sun suggest the mid-decade redistricting is designed to boost Republican House seats, though analysts have raised the possibility it could backfire on the GOP.
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Sources: The Gainesville Sun · WCJB TV20
Andrew Lukehart, 53, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on June 2 at Florida State Prison in Starke after the governor signed his death warrant. Lukehart was convicted of killing a 5-month-old girl in Duval County nearly three decades ago, with authorities saying he repeatedly attacked the child before disposing of her body in a pond. He would be the ninth person executed in Florida this year, according to state officials.
Sources: The Gainesville Sun · WCJB TV20
Spirit Airlines has closed facilities in Florida, resulting in nearly 5,000 layoffs across Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. Separately, a crowdfunding campaign aimed at purchasing the struggling airline has attracted roughly $88 million in pledges.
Sources: The Gainesville Sun
A group of Florida teachers has filed a lawsuit against the state over how public schools are funded, according to a report from the Gainesville Sun. The suit appears to challenge the adequacy or distribution of state education funding, though full details of the complaint are not available from the headline alone.
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Sources: The Gainesville Sun
A WUFT report examines the experiences of immigrants removed from Florida under deportation enforcement, tracing what happens to them after they are returned to their countries of origin. The story explores the personal and practical challenges facing those suddenly uprooted from their lives in the state.
Sources: WUFT News
