David Fleshler

Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz's defense team are portraying him as the neurologically damaged victim of his mother’s heavy drinking. But a day after neurologist Paul Connor testified for the defense that he lacked the ability to quickly shift the focus of his attention and had trouble using his working memory, prosecutors got him to concede many of Cruz’s neurological test scores were in the normal range.

A prominent feature of the $1.1 billion in Everglades funding recently announced by the Biden administration will show up in southwestern Broward County.

A Texas company’s plans to drill for oil in the Everglades may have a tougher time winning approval, now that an administration that’s skeptical of fossil fuels has taken over in Washington. Burnett Oil Co. has proposed drilling at two sites in Big Cypress National Preserve, important Florida panther habitat that sprawls across both sides of Alligator Alley.

But neighborhoods 20 miles inland are starting to feel the impact, as the Atlantic Ocean’s higher elevation makes it harder for drainage canals to keep them dry. The problem showed up last year in Tropical Storm Eta, when floodwater remained in southwest Broward neighborhoods for days, partly because the elevated ocean blocked canals from draining the region.

Although you didn’t have to pay anything for the shots, the fees paid by insurance companies and the federal government put as much as $150 million in the pockets of Florida pharmacies, grocery stores and private medical practices.

The prediction calls for seven to 10 hurricanes. Three to five of these are expected to reach major hurricane strength, which means winds of at least 111 mph.

Those hurricane names were permanently retired Wednesday by the World Meteorological Organization, following the tradition of avoiding the repetition of names of particularly destructive storms. Added to the list were Dexter and Leah.

Asked about the governor’s comments at a Monday press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki pointed to Florida’s failure to administer half the vaccine doses the state had already received.

New questions are being raised about an unexplained gap in death reporting in the days leading up to Election Day on Nov. 3. The pause in reporting long-backlogged deaths resulted in fewer COVID-19 deaths being reported in daily counts as Floridians headed to the polls.

The administration suppressed unfavorable facts, dispensed dangerous misinformation, dismissed public health professionals, and promoted the views of scientific dissenters who supported the governor’s approach to the disease.

The Invading Sea, a joint project of 25 editorial boards representing nearly every newspaper in Florida, received a $50,000 grant from Environmental Defense Fund for the one-year project. The money will go toward bringing business leaders into discussions on how to address what many consider the gravest threat to the state.

The former campaign manager for President Trump's 2020 re-election was involuntarily hospitalized under Florida's Baker Act Sunday evening.