Florida is the only state that hasn’t told its residents who will get shots next, when more doses are available, according to an analysis of state rollouts by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit focused on national health issues. Instead, Gov. Ron DeSantis has been laser-focused on vaccinating seniors, telling other groups to wait their turn.

“Most states are providing information,” said Jen Kates, Kaiser’s vice president. “Maybe they haven’t put it out for all phases, but at least for the next phase coming up. All but one state, and that’s Florida.” No clear statement on who’s next in line

DeSantis said at a Miami area news conference Tuesday that sworn law enforcement officers and classroom teachers will get access to vaccines next, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency opens new vaccination sites in Florida on March 3. But the statement, like many made by DeSantis through the pandemic, was non-specific — and his staff rarely responds to follow-up questions seeking more details.

The lack of clear messaging has left millions of essential workers confused about when they might have access to vaccines. Neither they nor other groups recommended as key for vaccination by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — like those younger than 65 who are medically vulnerable — have been told when their time will come.

TAMPA — Graydon Young, an Army and Navy reserve veteran from Sarasota County, stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with thousands of others because he was working toward a “righteous cause,” his attorney said in federal court Monday.

Young, a brother, husband and a small business owner, only later realized “he had been duped by an organization he didn’t fully understand,” defense attorney Robert Foley argued in a federal probable cause hearing in Tampa. Young was arrested Feb. 15 and is among nine people accused as co-conspirators as members of the far-right, anti-government militia group the Oath Keepers. All nine face charges for conspiring to obstruct the U.S. Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election results by storming the Capitol building on Jan. 6.

Young’s actions that day were simply “inconceivable,” federal Magistrate Judge Thomas Wilson ruled. Young, 54, of Englewood, will be held in Pinellas County jail without bail until he can be tried on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, depredation against federal government property and unlawful entry, disorderly or violent conduct and destruction of records in a federal investigation, Wilson said.

According to the court documents, Young and his sister are alleged to have donned paramilitary gear and joined a “military-style stack” formation that marched up the center steps of the east side of the Capitol, breached the door at the top and then stormed inside. Young had planned for that moment since he joined the group in December, court records said, and even arranged for himself and three others to train with a “Florida company that conducts training on firearms and combat,” leading up to the insurrection.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent out a fundraising plea attacking the Biden administration for considering domestic travel restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of a highly contagious COVID-19 variant.

President Joe Biden “is trying to shut FL’s border,” DeSantis texted potential donors. In an accompanying email, DeSantis said: “Joe Biden is considering treating Florida like East Berlin and shutting down our border over ‘coronavirus concerns.’”

Is that so? We found no indication of anything so dramatic.

Desantis imposed travel restrictions on travelers from some states earlier in the pandemic. On March 23, 2020, he required travelers from coronavirus hot spots like New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to self-quarantine for 14 days. Later that month, he ordered the Florida Highway Patrol to set up checkpoints on a highway connecting Florida and Louisiana.

President Joe Biden made many promises on the campaign trail, from reducing high maternal mortality rates to creating 1 million auto industry jobs. He has already fulfilled his pledges to rescind the transgender military ban, rejoin the World Health Organization and reverse family separation policies that split parents from their children at the U.S. border, according to the fact-checkers at PolitiFact who are tracking 100 of the president’s top priorities.

Some of Biden’s broader promises have wide support. The devil, of course, is in the details, but who wouldn’t want to get COVID-19 under control or end pay discrimination? Some of the others are commendable, but not entirely within Biden’s immediate control. He wants, for instance, to nominate the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, but he can’t do that unless a spot on the court becomes available.

Put Social Security on a path to long-run solvency
Allow import of prescription drugs from other countries
Repeal laws barring Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices
Create national center to reduce veteran suicide
Restore Cuba engagement

Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate title by taking Stanley Cup on a jet-ski
Associated Press

Turns out Rob Gronkowski wasn't the guy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had to worry about when it came to the safety of the Lombardi Trophy.T

The Bucs set sail for a boat parade down Hillsborough River in Tampa on Wednesday to celebrate their Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, and Tom Brady arrived in style on his $2 million boat.

The parade featured the usual shenanigans -- until Brady decided to attempt an uncharacteristically risky throw. Here's the 43-year-old quarterback literally throwing the Lombardi Trophy over open water from his boat to a boat of Tampa Bay wide receivers.

The newly built manse is located in Palm Beach on land once owned by former President Donald Trump.

A mystery Russian buyer has swooped up the most expensive home ever sold in Florida, with a source telling Page Six they paid nearly $140 million in cash.

The newly built manse is located in Palm Beach on land once owned by former President Donald Trump. In 2008 Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev — who made headlines when he sold Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” for $450 million — bought it for $95 million. He razed the house and sold three adjacent lots for the combined price of $108.2 million, according to reports.

The newly constructed, 21,000 square feet “spec” house sits on one of the lots and was designed by architect William M. Boyle of Boyle Architecture and features a pool and guesthouse. It went under contract less than 24 hours after the mystery buyer toured the home, a source tells us.

TAMPA — The Buccaneers will celebrate their Super Bowl 55 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on the water with a boat parade Wednesday on the Hillsborough River in Tampa.

The parade will begin at 1 p.m. near Armature Works. Fans will be able to watch along the Riverwalk, Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, Curtis Hixon Park and other waterside spots. Those who can’t attend in person can watch a live stream from the Buccaneers, city of Tampa and Hillsborough County social media accounts, said an official involved in the planning.

Unlike the Lightning celebration in September, boaters won’t be allowed to take part in the procession, which will include Mayor Jane Castor and city and county leadership, along with an unspecified number of Buccaneers players and personnel.

Bucs fans with boats can still attend the parade, however. The city is just requiring that their vessels stay 50 feet from the official boats. Those who wander too close could face criminal charges, according to the release.

Laura Rodriguez, a junior at the University of South Florida and member of Students for a Democratic Society, was on her way from class to attend a protest Tuesday when she saw someone being arrested.

Five people, students and former students, were detained outside the Marshall Student Center on charges of trespassing and served notices to appear after being told to disperse, according to the University Police Department.

They were there for a rally calling attention to the climate for free speech on college campuses in Florida. Participants were protesting state legislation that proposes increased penalties for protesters who block traffic or participate in “disorderly assemblies.”

Meanwhile, she said, the university allowed campus demonstrations from Kaitlin Bennett, a controversial online figure and gun rights activist who roused a crowd on campus last fall, and a group of extremist preachers a few weeks ago.
“It’s clear hypocrisy,” Cook said.

Florida retailers are getting 65,300 additional doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine this week as part of a new federal program to send vials directly to major pharmacies.

Nearly 500 Walmart, Winn-Dixie and Publix pharmacies across 52 counties are participating in the federal program and will be able to offer vaccines to people 65 and older by later this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday. The program marks a significant expansion in retail locations offering the vaccines to Florida’s residents, providing more access to people in different parts of the state. That includes Hillsborough County, which until now had been the only Tampa Bay county that didn’t have Publix locations offering vaccines from the state.

On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced 119 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in 34 counties across the state will get a total of about 25,000 doses beginning this week. The chains will begin administering doses Friday.

The Publix stores already offering the vaccine before this expansion are in ZIP codes that are home to some 5.9 million Floridians. Those areas are much whiter than the state overall. About 71 percent of residents there are non-Hispanic white people, compared to 54 percent of all Floridians or 55 percent of those in ZIP codes with a licensed Publix pharmacy.

The Lightning won’t be in Tampa for Super Bowl 55, but they’re traveling in style as they cheer on the Bucs from afar during their trip to Nashville for Monday’s game against the Predators.

Just over four months after the Lightning won the Stanley Cup, the Bucs seek their second Lombardi Trophy in the franchise’s 45-season history tonight against the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55 at Raymond James Stadium.

Including the Rays, who advanced to the World Series in October, the Bucs are the third major pro sports team from Tampa Bay to play for a league championship since September. In addition, the Rowdies reached the USL Championship final but were unable to play due to a COVID-19 outbreak.