Donald Trump appears in court

For the first time in history, a former U.S. president has appeared in court as a criminal defendant. Donald Trump surrendered to authorities yesterday to appear on charges related to hush-money payments at the height of the 2016 presidential election. Trump, a 2024 presidential candidate, pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges. Prosecutors said Trump conspired to undermine the 2016 presidential election by trying to suppress information that could harm his candidacy. Trump is due back in court in December, but his lawyers asked that he be excused from attending that hearing in person because of the extraordinary security required to have him show up.

Elected officials gathered around Florida

Elected officials from around Florida gathered for a press conference yesterday to speak out against bills that they claim are attacks on local control. WMNF’s Chris Young reports.

Sarasota School Board considers hiring conservative

The Sarasota School Board are considering hiring a consultant linked to the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. But they put off a vote following heated comments during a workshop yesterday. The meeting came after about 100 people rallied against the proposed contract. The board will wait until its next meeting to consider hiring the consulting firm Vermilion Education, which has ties to the conservative college. Two draft contracts would allow Vermilion to sit in on interviews of teachers, as well as have access to school policies, assignments, lesson plans and book lists.

Gun Reform advocates

Gun reform advocates organized at Curtis Hixon Park Tuesday one day after Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law to allow carrying concealed firearms without a permit. WMNF’s Camilla Carrero has more…

Florida Democratic chair arrested after protest

Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried, state senator minority leader Lauren Book and nine other protestors were arrested Monday night. This comes after the state senate passed the six week abortion ban. Nikki Fried and Lauren Book protested with occupy tally in which the protest was planned days before the governor Ron DeSantis signed the permitless carry bill yesterday. This would allow guns to be carried almost anywhere without a permit. Fried says they were arrested for trespassing despite that a permit to protest was revoked. Fried says they were taken to the county jail, where the protesters were booked and spent only a few hours. They were released on zero bond and in some cases, on their recognizance in others. Fried and Book were released at midnight, while the other protestors were released a few hours later. Nikki Fried plans to start speaking on behalf of the Democratic Party on a college tour shortly in preparation for the next election cycle.

Plant City municipal election

Plant City held a municipal election last night, with nearly 8% of eligible voters turning out to the polls. Vice Mayor and incumbent City Commissioner Michael Sparkman defeated his newcomer opponent Jeremy Griner by 11 percentage points, and secured another term on the Plant City Commission. The unofficial results can be seen on votehillsborough.gov.

Information from the Florida Public Radio network, News Service of Florida and Associated Press, was used in this report.