Weather Authority Meteorologist Jenese Harris takes an extended look Hurricane Milton's current track, storm surge probabilities, rain chances and wind ranges

Sunny skies to scattered Showers, Coastal Flooding and then a Breezy start to Fall

West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice broke with the GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccination policies.

Washington state's governor has called for the state to develop best practices on how agencies use generative artificial intelligence as it continues to incorporate the technology into government operations.

Gov. Brian Kemp used his State of the State speech to draw contrasts between his Republican philosophy and Democrats in an election year when the presidency and all of Georgia’s state House and Senate seats are on the ballot, but the Republican Kemp himself doesn’t face the voters.

A Kansas judge has put a new state law on medication abortions on hold and blocked the state from enforcing older abortion restrictions.

Myanmar’s military-controlled government has extended the state of emergency it imposed when the army seized power from an elected government 2 1/2 years ago, forcing a further delay in elections it promised when it took over.

A nonprofit that describes itself as a collection of doctors and others uniting to “protect healthcare from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology” has become a significant presence in statehouses.

As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases and bonuses for the beleaguered profession.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state will pay to build 1,200 small homes to help house the homeless population.

Florida is considering a new alternative to the SAT college entrance exam which is offered by the College Board.

State money that would have gone to help the USS Orleck naval museum prepare for its permanent home has sunk.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill prohibiting the use of nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates.

Light showers are moving across portions of southeast Georgia while the rumble of thunder continues south of the State line.  Temperatures will be about 4 to 7 degrees cooler than our morning temperatures.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a new law to make abortions cheaper for people on private insurance plans.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has signed a bill to limit how race can be discussed in classrooms.

Gov. Ron DeSantis in November announced his plans to suspend the state’s 26.5 cent per gallon gas tax. He pushed the idea again during his State of the State address in January.

Gov. Bill Lee says he supports placing more scrutiny over school libraries so that students consume “age appropriate” content.

California’s unemployment rate dipped a half-percentage point in December as the most populous state added 50,700 nonfarm jobs.

State lawmakers on Thursday considered a proposal that could eliminate salaries for county school board members.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made clear in his State of the State speech that he likes teachers, first responders and freedom and he doesn’t like Dr. Anthony Fauci, critical race theory, abortion, illegal immigration and Burmese pythons.

The state of Florida has officially returned $878,000 it had withheld from eight local schools districts for implementing mask mandates with no parental opt-out earlier in the school year.

The Senate has confirmed two prominent anti-Trump Republicans to serve in the Biden administration.

President Joe Biden is nominating Cindy McCain to be the U.S. representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

Storms stage a comeback this afternoon and evening. Weather moves in after 3 pm first in inland areas west of Highway 301 followed by rain into NEFLA and areas primarily along the State line and southward.

The youngest daughter of New York’s governor used a social media post Thursday to share her queer identity and call for allies to speak up against homophobia.

– Mississippi will increase the lowest monthly welfare payments in the nation under a bill signed into law Wednesday by the state's Republican governor. The payments in Mississippi have been $146 for a family of two, $170 for a family of three and $194 for a family of four. AdEven with the increase, the Mississippi welfare payments will still be only a fraction of the federal poverty level, according to the liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Brandon Jones, a Democratic former Mississippi House member and current policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund in Mississippi, called the increase long overdue. “This $90 increase gets Mississippi off the bottom and is desperately needed by struggling families throughout the state."

Newsom and his Democratic allies launched a political committee Monday, March 15 to stop a proposed recall election that could oust him from office. Orrin Heatlie, a retired county sheriff's sergeant who filed the recall petition, said Newsom is engaging in a “smear campaign" about the recall organizers because he can't defend his record. Defeating the recall “will be one of the most important priorities for Democrats this year,” Booker said in a statement. Newsom for months sidestepped questions about the recall but has more recently started to ramp up his political operation and strategy. AdResponding to Newsom’s campaign, the California Republican Party pointed to a slew of issues beyond the coronavirus.

Tate Reeves signs the first state bill in the U.S. this year to ban transgender athletes from competing on female sports teams, as supporting lawmakers gather behind him, Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. Tate Reeves signed a bill Thursday to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or women’s sports teams. “This law is a solution in search of a problem, and legislators in Mississippi have not provided any examples of Mississippi transgender athletes gaming the system for a competitive advantage because none exist,” David said. In a statement Thursday, Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christiana Holcomb praised the Mississippi law. AdRepublican legislators who pushed the bill gave no evidence of any transgender athletes competing in Mississippi schools or universities.

– Mississippi is on track to become the first state this year to enact a law banning transgender athletes from competing on girls or women's sports teams. Tate Reeves said Thursday that he will sign a bill that the Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature has passed. AdRepublican legislators who pushed the bill gave no evidence of any transgender athletes competing in Mississippi schools or universities. A Mississippi mother with a transgender daughter spoke Thursday during the Human Rights Campaign news conference. AdSupporters of bills such as the one in Mississippi argue that transgender girls, because they were born male, are naturally stronger, faster and bigger than those born female.

New York's attorney general said she's moving forward with an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo after receiving a letter from his office Monday, March 1, 2021, authorizing her to take charge of the probe. AdAttorney General Letitia James received a letter Monday from Cuomo’s office authorizing her to take charge of the probe after a weekend of wrangling over who should investigate. The harassment allegations come on the heels of accusations he covered up the true death toll of coronavirus on nursing home residents. Cuomo senior adviser Beth Garvey said she would facilitate interviews with witness and requests for documents from Cuomo’s office.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after the White House announced plans to open four federal mass vaccination sites in Florida, the state health department reported another 7,280 cases of COVID-19 in Florida. Just over 11 months after the first deaths in Florida attributed to COVID-19, the Department of Health reported Friday that the state had surpassed 30,000 deaths attributed to the virus. AdAs of Saturday, Florida had reported a total of 30,339 deaths of residents and visitors to the state. Florida also reported its first confirmed case of the P.1 COVID variant that’s believed to have come from Brazil. AdOn Friday, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced that her agency is launching a bilingual vaccine education campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among the state’s farmworkers.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Just over 11 months after the first deaths in Florida attributed to COVID-19, the Department of Health reported Friday that the state has surpassed 30,000 deaths attributed to the virus. The state has added 6,683 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, reaching 1,856,427 cases since the outbreak reached the state last March. According to the FDOH data, 29,692 residents and at least 522 more non-residents have died in Florida from COVID-19, bringing the combined total to 30,214. There were 12 additional deaths in Duval County reported on Friday, bringing the total to 1,075. Florida also reported its first confirmed case of the P.1 COVID variant that believed to have come from Brazil.

Kelly championed Medicaid expansion in her first race in 2018 and promised to sign legislation legalizing medical marijuana, though she has not pushed that issue aggressively so far. But University of Kansas political scientist Patrick Miller said he wonders why any Kansas politician still opposes medical marijuana. The Legislature has taken only relatively small steps toward legalizing medical marijuana even as most other states have done it. She said legalizing medical marijuana could raise up to $50 million a year and her proposal “eliminates the argument” that Kansas can't afford Medicaid expansion. AdBut Republican lawmakers remained skeptical that medical marijuana could raise much money or cover Medicaid expansion costs.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – State fire marshals are investigating a suspicious fire that engulfed a shopping center early Thanksgiving morning. The fire at the Village Plaza shopping center in Daytona Beach broke out at about 4 a.m. Thursday and spread into several units, according to WKMG-TV in Orlando. Daytona Beach fire officials believe the flames started in a nutritional store. Many of the units were not currently being leased and there were no people at the time of the fire. Fire officials are calling the fire suspicious and said the state fire marshal is investigating.

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo Cindy McCain, wife of former Arizona Sen. John McCain, waves to the crowd after being acknowledged by Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey during his State of the State address on the opening day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden said Sept. 22 that Cindy McCain plans to endorse him for president. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo Cindy McCain, wife of former Arizona Sen. John McCain, waves to the crowd after being acknowledged by Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey during his State of the State address on the opening day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden said Sept. 22 that Cindy McCain plans to endorse him for president. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

The fate of the state's welcome centers is in doubtPublished: January 9, 2020, 6:11 pmLawmakers are preparing to battle over whether to keep funding Visit Florida.

Florida Department of StateTALLAHASSEE, Fla. - State senators next week will again consider an effort to do away with the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a powerful panel that sparked controversy last year by linking unrelated issues in proposed constitutional amendments. During the 2019 legislative session, Brandes launched a similar effort that was approved by the Senate, but it died in the House. Similarly, the Senate approved a measure that would have prevented the commission from "bundling" multiple topics in ballot proposals. Last year's Constitution Revision Commission was mostly appointed by then-Gov. The commission placed seven amendments on the November 2018 ballot, all of which were approved by voters.

ORLANDO, Fla. - State demographers estimate Florida's population will surpass 22 million residents as soon as 2022. Forecasts released earlier this month by the Demographic Estimating Conference estimate that Florida will grow an average of 330,000 people a year over the next five years. With 21.3 million people, Florida is the nation's third most populous state, trailing only California and Texas. The U.S. Census Bureau said Florida had the second-biggest population gain in 2018, growing by more than 322,000 residents. The bureau uses a methodology different from the Demographic Estimating Conference in Florida.