Category: Florida News

An appeals court Wednesday rejected a class-action lawsuit filed against the North Broward Hospital District after a 2021 data breach. A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a circuit judge’s ruling that the district, also known as Broward Health, was shielded by sovereign immunity, which helps protect government agencies from liability. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of patients whose private information was exposed in the data breach, alleged negligence and breach of contract by the hospital system. But the appeals court, in a ruling written by Judge Robert Gross and...

Goff Stepien of Daytona Beach catches a wave during Surfing Santas at Cocoa Beach on Dec. 24, 2025. The annual event gathers people for Sunshine State holiday cheer and catching waves, Santa style. This year was estimated to have record-breaking attendance with over 12,000 visitors. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel) Thousands of festive Floridians and visitors congregate on the beach during Surfing Santas at Cocoa Beach on Dec. 24, 2025. The annual event gathers people for Sunshine State holiday cheer and catching waves, Santa style. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel) A trio of festive...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S. a “foreign terrorist organization,” following a similar step by Texas last month. The directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order DeSantis posted on the social media site X. It also gives the same label to the Muslim Brotherhood. Neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The order instructs Florida agencies to prevent the two groups and those who have provided...