Articles by Kate Payne

After FSU Shooting, Students Call on Lawmakers to Block Lower Gun-Buying Age

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Student survivors of last week’s deadly shooting at Florida State University urged state legislators Tuesday to block an effort to reverse a law passed after the 2018 Parkland school shooting that raised the state’s gun-buying age …

Questions About How a Deputy’s Stepson Became the Accused Gunman at FSU Shooting

Amid the abandoned chemistry notes and other debris left behind after a deadly shooting at Florida State University are lingering questions about how the stepson of a beloved sheriff’s deputy tasked with school safety at a middle school became the …

Florida Rushing to Enforce New Immigration Laws. Here’s What to Know

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on immigration legislation he says is the toughest in the nation, Florida’s Republican leaders have named the director of the new state board of immigration enforcement: an architect of …

Florida Grand Jury Finds No Criminal Activity With COVID Vaccine Development

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A statewide grand jury convened at the request of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to investigate “any and all wrongdoing” concerning COVID-19 vaccines did not find any evidence of criminal activity, according to a report unsealed on …

Environmentalists Headed to Court Over Proposed Oil Well in Florida Watershed

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Environmentalists are heading to court to try to stop a plan to drill for oil in the watershed of a vulnerable north Florida river. The challenge brought by the conservation group Apalachicola Riverkeeper against the state’s …

AI Chatbot Pushed Florida Teen to Suicide, Lawsuit Against Its Creator Alleges

In the final moments before he took his own life, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III took out his phone and messaged the chatbot that had become his closest friend. For months, Sewell had become increasingly isolated from his real life as …

Milton Ravaged One of the Most Popular Areas for Snowbirds on Florida’s Gulf Coast

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The start of “snowbird” season in Florida is only weeks away, but many Florida Gulf Coast beaches, regularly voted some of the best in the United States, are closed to the public because of the …

Rebuild or What? Florida Towns Hit Three Times by Hurricanes Face Tough Choice

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It was just a month ago that Brooke Hiers left the state-issued emergency trailer where her family had lived since Hurricane Idalia slammed into her Gulf Coast fishing village of Horseshoe Beach in August 2023. …