“We believe that the interests of justice favor allowing Thompson to amend her petition,” Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justices Ricky Polston, Jorge Labarga, Alan Lawson and Carlos Muñiz wrote in a seven-page order. Justice John Couriel, whom DeSantis also appointed in May, has recused himself from the dispute over Francis. ... Read More
Black lawmakers oppose amendment to change Florida primaries
“What’s in front of us is an amendment that is very, very bad for all of Florida, not just the Florida Legislative Black Caucus,” said Black caucus Chairman Bobby Powell, a Democratic senator from West Palm Beach. Black lawmakers oppose Amendment 3, which seeks to overhaul Florida’s primary-election system by allowing voters to cast ballots in primaries regardless of party affiliation. (Dan Sweeney) ... Read More
Trump says oil drilling will be banned off Florida coast, Democrats scoff at his claim that he’s friend of environment
Supporters of President Donald Trump arrive in West Palm Beach on Sept. 7, 2020, for a floatilla. Trump is kicking off the final stage of the fall campaign with a visit to Palm Beach County, in which he plans to portray himself as a champion of the environment. Democrats say Trump has a poor environmental record. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a Palm Beach County Democrat, said it’s “fake news” for Trump to claim credit for funding of Everglades restoration. (Joe Cavaretta / South... Read More
State of Theology: Evangelicals Hold Steady on Doctrine, More Outspoken on Politics
American evangelicals make mostly incremental changes around some common heresies. In the latest survey of Americans’ theological views, evangelicals stood out for their love of their Savior and Scripture, but like the rest of the country, they still have significant gaps in belief and interpretation. The biggest change in this year’s State of American Theology Study had to do with approaches to political engagement, with evangelicals three times less likely to believe that... Read More
Challenge to amendment that restructures Florida primaries is tossed out
But the appeals court, pointing to a deadline in state law, overturned Dodson’s ruling Friday and ordered that he dismiss the case as “moot.” The three-page decision by Judges Brad Thomas, Harvey Jay and Adam Tanenbaum indicated the Tallahassee-based appeals court will issue a more-detailed opinion later about its reasoning. ... Read More
Royal Caribbean’s next entry for world’s largest cruise ship gets first taste of water
That ship, which had been sailing from PortMiami before the coronavirus shutdown, comes in at 228,081 gross tons, is 1,188 feet long and has a maximum capacity of 6,680 guests with 2,200 crew. At double capacity, though, the guest count is 5,518 from 2,759 staterooms. ... Read More
Florida Supreme Court nominee Renatha Francis gets strong backing from DeSantis
“We believe that the interests of justice favor allowing Thompson to amend her petition,” Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justices Ricky Polston, Jorge Labarga, Alan Lawson and Carlos Muñiz wrote in a seven-page order. Justice John Couriel, whom DeSantis also appointed in May, has recused himself from the dispute over Francis. ... Read More
Rise of the Machines: New Book Applies Christian Ethics to the Future of AI
Q&A: John Lennox reflects on questions of consciousness in computers, enhancing humans, and other quandaries. Once viewed as the stuff of science fiction, artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily making inroads into our everyday lives—from our social media feeds to digital assistants like Siri and Alexa. As helpful as AI is for many aspects of our lives, it also raises a number of challenging moral and spiritual questions. Facial recognition can be used to locate fugitive... Read More
Why Our Sunday School Disciples Christians in Politics
If churches don’t engage our members, pundits and memes will. Are you sure that’s a good idea?” That’s the most common response I get when I tell someone our church is hosting a Sunday school class on faith and politics this fall in the middle of the 2020 election season. We’re a growing, politically diverse congregation in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, so I understand the concern. Isn’t talking about politics a recipe for disaster? Won’t it just... Read More
BCPS Provides Update on School Reopening and Details on Tentative Contract Agreement with Broward Teachers Union
Tuesday, September 8,2020Superintendent Runcie will provide an update on school reopening and the District’s analysis of the gating criteria being used to determine when face-to-face learning can begin to occur. ... Read More