Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has highlighted efforts by Republican governors and statehouses across the country to embrace proposals limiting the rights of transgender people, signing new restrictions as he moves closer to a presidential bid.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills Wednesday that ban gender-affirming care for minors, target drag shows, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Writers' group PEN America and publisher Penguin Random House sued a Florida school district Wednesday over its removal of books about race and LGBTQ+ identities, the latest opposition to a policy central to Gov.

Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Donald Trump for implying that Florida's new six-week abortion ban is “too harsh,” going after the former president as DeSantis prepares to challenge him for the 2024 Republican nomination.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he plans to send more than 1,100 National Guard soldiers and law enforcement officers to Texas to assist with border security between the United States and Mexico.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney on Tuesday asked a state judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a governing board appointed by Gov.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs, addressing a concern of conservatives ahead of the Republican governor's expected presidential candidacy.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Before allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis took over, Disney World's governing district, which at the time was controlled by Disney supporters, reached an agreement in February with the company to prohibit a long list of businesses from ever being operated on its property.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law a sweeping immigration bill that bolsters his migrant relocation program and limits social services for immigrants lacking permanent legal status — key political priorities of the Republican as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Teachers and other government employees will have to write monthly checks if they want to stay in their union after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday banning automatic dues deductions from public employees' paychecks,

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The super PAC promoting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to have dozens of staff in place in the first 18 states on the Republican presidential primary calendar in the coming weeks, a move indicating that his expected 2024 announcement is drawing closer.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney on Monday amended its free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis to add recent developments in the tit-for-tat fight between the entertainment giant and the Florida governor, such as a new law granting the state unprecedented authority to inspect a monorail system at Disney World.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After 60 tumultuous days fighting about abortion, immigration, LGBTQ+ issues, guns and teaching sexuality in schools, the Florida Legislature ended its annual session by unanimously passing a $117 billion state budget Friday.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — On the day he took office, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to pursue an agenda that would heal the state's political divisions.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign a bill legislators sent him Thursday that would keep doctors from prescribing drugs and performing procedures on minors who are seeking gender-affirming care.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — From the death penalty to gender identity to abortion, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has cemented himself as a conservative standard bearer as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign sometime after the legislative session ends this week.

Florida Republicans have approved bills to ban diversity programs in colleges and prevent students and teachers from being required to use pronouns that don’t correspond to someone’s sex, building on top priorities of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — About a dozen people were arrested Wednesday night while protesting in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' Florida Capitol Office, officials said.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal appeals judges on Tuesday heard arguments over whether Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrongly suspended an elected state prosecutor last year after comments he made opposing abortion prosecutions.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Legislature on Tuesday approved a sweeping immigration bill pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, bolstering the Republican's controversial migrant-relocation program as he prepares to announce a presidential run.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida ethics board has dismissed a complaint that allies of former President Donald Trump filed against Republican rival Gov.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Days after Disney sued Florida's governor in federal court for what it described as retaliation for opposing the state's so-called “Don't Say Gay” bill, Disney World's governing board — made up of Gov.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned capital punishment in such cases.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The competition between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis is intensifying as the former president is scheduling a return trip to Iowa on the same day that the Florida governor was already going to be in the state that will kick off the Republican contest for the White House.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hoped his first international trade mission would generate lucrative business deals and boost his foreign policy resume ahead of an expected presidential run.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Senate escalated the culture war that's dominated this year's legislative session on Friday, passing bills on immigration, university diversity programs and allowing doctors to refuse treatment if they have moral objections to certain procedures.

Florida officials are threatening to revoke the teaching license of a school superintendent who criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing the educator of violating several statutes and DeSantis directives and allowing his “personal political views” to guide his leadership.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former campaign official for the Florida Democrat who nearly beat Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018 testified Thursday that a public relations agency owner charged alongside the former candidate was actively involved in the campaign's get-out-the-vote efforts.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday shrugged off Disney's lawsuit against him as politically motivated, and said that it was time for the iconic company to stop enjoying favorable treatment in his state.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Disney sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday over the Republican's takeover of its theme park district, alleging the governor waged a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" after the company opposed a law critics call “Don't Say Gay.”

The New College of Florida trustees now dominated by conservatives appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis voted Wednesday to deny tenure to five professors, overriding concerns by faculty and students that the decision poses a threat to academic freedom.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held trade talks with South Korean officials in Seoul on Wednesday, on the second leg of his four-nation trip, as the possible rival to Donald Trump seeks to build his diplomatic profile ahead of a widely anticipated presidential campaign launch.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The former campaign manager for the Florida Democrat who nearly beat Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018 testified Tuesday that he didn’t recall whether a public relations company accused of illegally funneling campaign funds to the candidate was working as a vendor for the campaign.

The College Board is revamping its Advanced Placement African American studies course again, vowing to give students an “unflinching encounter with the facts” following criticism that it watered down curriculum on slavery reparations and the Black Lives Matter movement after pressure from conservative politicians.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republicans are poised to change state law to allow GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president without having to leave office, according to legislation filed Tuesday.

The College Board says changes will be made to its new AP African American studies course, after critics said the agency bowed to political pressure and removed several topics from the framework, including Black Lives Matter, slavery reparations and queer life.

Inside the Florida statehouse, Gov. Ron DeSantis' Republican allies say they're working “at warp speed” to finish their legislative business.

In South Carolina and Nevada, early voting states that are critical in a presidential primary, his operatives are moving quickly to build out a political team that is essentially a campaign in waiting.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday that he will ask the Biden administration to declare Broward County a disaster area due to flooding earlier this month after record rainfall.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a longtime Donald Trump ally, will help lead a political action committee encouraging Florida Gov.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced he will travel to Japan, South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom as part of an international trade mission, giving the expected Republican presidential candidate a platform to bolster his foreign policy credentials.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday ending a unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing, a response to a verdict that spared the life of a school shooter who killed 17 people.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The new chair of Disney World’s revamped governing body said Wednesday that new supervisors had good intentions about collaborating with the company after they were appointed by Florida Gov.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis added more wins to his agenda targeting the LGBTQ+ community as a state board approved an expansion of what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” law Wednesday, and the House passed bills on gender-transition treatments, bathroom use and keeping children out of drag shows.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ron DeSantis has yet to enter the 2024 presidential race, but former President Donald Trump is aiming to drum up support in the Florida governor's backyard, securing endorsements already from more than one-third of the Republicans in the state's congressional delegation.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Democrat who nearly beat Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018 pocketed illegal campaign contributions because he was having a hard time paying for his lifestyle after quitting his job to run for governor, a prosecutor said Tuesday as a corruption trial began.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers ratcheted up pressure on Walt Disney World on Monday by announcing legislation that will use the regulatory powers of Florida government to exert unprecedented oversight on the park resort's rides and monorail.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a restrictive abortion bill at an evangelical church before enthusiastic supporters in one of Florida's largest media markets.

But that was last year, when DeSantis banned abortions after 15 weeks.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, giving the Republican a major conservative policy victory as he prepares to launch an expected presidential candidacy.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill approved by the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees to Disney World's governing board have launched a fresh salvo in the fight to control the resort, seeking to expand their authority after their Disney-controlled predecessors abdicated most powers to the company.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Suspending an elected Democratic prosecutor. Forbidding gender-affirming treatments for minors. Expanding the “Don’t Say Gay” law to high schools.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to make his first public appearance in South Carolina, a state where votes will be critical if he launches an expected 2024 presidential bid.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida's Democrats don't have much to celebrate these days.

The once dominant party hasn't elected a governor since 1994. It's more than a decade since a Democratic presidential candidate won the state.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Ahead of a highly anticipated presidential announcement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Michigan for his first appearance this year in the battleground state transformed by Democratic majorities under high-profile Gov.

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Appearing Wednesday on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' turf, California Gov. Gavin Newsom decried what he called a backward-looking conservative attempt to reshape education in the U.S.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Senate on Monday approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure supported by Gov.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney CEO Bob Iger on Monday said any retaliatory actions by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature against the company that threaten jobs or expansion at its Florida resort is not only “anti-business ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Monday, giving the governor another legislative victory as he prepares a campaign for president.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill the Legislature sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday. The governor said at a suburban Atlanta gun store that he will sign the bill.