A comment made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a Miami rally for former President Donald Trump on Sunday has sparked bipartisan backlash and ignited strong reactions among Puerto Rican community leaders, local politicians and voters in South Florida.

A controversial plan to develop parts of Florida’s state parks has sparked significant backlash, prompting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to address public concerns on Wednesday.

Local 10 News This Week In South Florida Anchor Glenna Milberg interviews Kevin Doyle, of the Consumer Energy Alliance; Raymer Maguire, of the Climate Leadership Engagement Institute; Damian Pardo, a Miami commissioner who represents District 2; Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party; and Kristin Murphy, a teacher at Nova Middle School.

Florida’s six-week abortion ban will take effect Wednesday and will replace an existing law that allows abortions up to 15 weeks across the state.

On the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast, host Glenna Milberg welcomes Miami-Dade School Board Member Roberto Alonso, journalist Marc Caputo, Miami-Dade County Independent Civilian Panel Chair Loreal Arscott, WLRN journalist Tom Hudson, Miami-Dade Republican Party vice chair Kevin Cooper and attorney Alex Tachmes.

On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, host Glenna Milberg is joined by Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, author and educator Marvin Dunn, attorney and political analyst Rafael Yaniz, attorney Loreal Arscott, journalist and political analyst Anne Geggis and attorney Marili Cancio.

The Florida Democratic Party is two weeks into a state tour aimed at registering voters, the most basic part of building a party.

On the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast, host Glenna Milberg welcomes Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, journalist Marc Caputo, Florida schoolteacher Jenna Barbee, Miami-Dade Courts Chief Judge Nushin Sayfie, and veteran prosecutor Gail Levine.

On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, host Glenna Milberg welcomes Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, journalist Marc Caputo, Florida schoolteacher Jenna Barbee, Miami-Dade Courts Chief Judge Nushin Sayfie, and veteran prosecutor Gail Levine.

Voters in Jacksonville elected a new Democratic mayor last week despite being outspent by her Republican opponent, who also had the endorsement of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Things are so bad for the Florida Democratic Party that the arrests of its party chair and Senate minority leader could be seen as a positive.

A peaceful protest was held outside the Florida Capitol building on Monday following a vote in the Senate on a six-week abortion ban.

Florida Democrats have selected former state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried to lead their party after a disastrous midterm performance in the onetime presidential battleground state.

The Grinch’s followers will be on the prowl as Santa Claus helpers take advantage of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday online sales.

Abortion rights remains a salient political issue for Democrats, as a special election in New York showed on Tuesday.

Florida's important primary race for the Democratic candidate for Governor goes to U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a former governor as a Republican, who will go up against Ron DeSantis.

Polls opened for Florida’s primary elections at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has won the Democratic nomination for governor in Florida, putting him in position to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis this fall in a campaign the Republican incumbent is eyeing as the first step toward a potential White House run.

Democratic candidates making final stops, pitches ahead of primaries

The most significant race in Florida's primary election Tuesday is between the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates seeking to go against Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's unopposed in the Republican primary.

Tuesday’s primary elections feature two top Florida Democrats squaring off for the right to face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Signs went up early Saturday morning at 23 sites around Broward County as polls opened for early voting in the Aug. 23 primaries.

Charlie Crist, one of the Democratic candidates for Florida governor, was in Overtown Friday hoping to secure Black voters.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist have held their first and only debate before the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The two democrats vying for the right to take on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in November met Thursday night in their one and only televised debate.

Hoping to be the Democratic nominee in the governor's race, Charlie Crist was in Overtown Friday.

On the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast, hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney are joined by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, MSD parent and gun control activist Max Schachter and Urban League of Greater Miami President T Willard Fair.

On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney are joined by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, MSD parent and gun control activist Max Schachter and Urban League of Greater Miami President T Willard Fair.

A big question heading into this year's primary elections is who will be the Democrat elected to oppose Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in November.

On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg speak with Florida Rep. Randy Fine, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, filmmaker and activist Billy Corben and former Miami Marlins President David Samson.

There are only four months left until the August primaries, and the race for governor is ramping up.

Florida utilities would gradually increase their renewable electricity, reaching 100% by 2050 under a proposed rule unveiled by the state’s agriculture commissioner.

State and local leaders are calling for an investigation into possible election interference after Local 10 News reported this week that South Florida senior citizens learned their political party was unknowingly changed to Republican.

Governor Ron DeSantis has added some new merchandise to his campaign website.

On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg welcome Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Broward County Elections Supervisor Joe Scott, State Sen. Shevrin Jones and State Rep. David Borrero.

The big news of the week involved Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, not for what she did but for what she said.

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.

Three Democrats are running for the right to run against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Florida's new daily cases of COVID-19 have once again surpassed previous records.

Florida's Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried claims that unused COVID tests are due to expire and blames the state's governor for the stockpiling.

A Florida ethics panel on Wednesday announced it has found probable cause that Democratic candidate for governor Nikki Fried violated state law for failing to properly disclose her income on financial forms.

Senator Rick Scott, in Miami to mark Versailles Restaurant’s 50th anniversary, served up scathing criticism of the bill Tuesday.

Delta-8 THC is sold in several forms, including vapes, tinctures, candy gummies and versions that can be smoked.

Democratic Florida gubernatorial primary opponents agree Gov. Ron DeSantis shouldn’t be getting in the way of public health measures such as face mask requirements and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

“This is the highest death toll we’ve seen in a single report. It should shock us to the core,” tweeted state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' mask mandate ban has led to a major battle.

Florida’s only Democrat elected statewide has suspended concealed carry weapons permits for 22 people involved in the U.S. Capitol breach.

A group run by one of former President Donald Trump's most prominent election conspiracy adherents is now registered in Florida.

Florida's only statewide elected Democrat has announced her intention to run for governor.

A day after Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried entered the Florida governor’s race, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made it clear he’s willing to go on the attack.

Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is running for Florida governor, calling Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis an authoritarian who’s putting his party and political ambition ahead of Floridians.

Nikki Fried stood at a gas station on Monday in Hialeah to announce her support of a proposed bill against credit card skimmers who exploit gas station pumps in Florida.

A mandatory evacuation order near a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses has been lifted.

On the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg are joined by Deputy Secretary for the Florida Department of Health Dr. Shamarial Roberson, state lawmakers Sen. Annette Taddeo and Rep. Daniel Perez, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried and South Florida Water Management District board member Ron Bergeron.

On the latest episode of This Week in South Florida, hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg are joined by Deputy Secretary for the Florida Department of Health Dr. Shamarial Roberson, state lawmakers Sen. Annette Taddeo and Rep. Daniel Perez, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried and South Florida Water Management District board member Ron Bergeron.

Florida's only Democrat elected statewide is Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried.

Democrats hope to make deeper strides in changing their fortunes in a state that has become friendlier place for Republicans. And that was despite $100 million spent by Michael Bloomberg to help Democrats in the state. When the spending tally is complete, the last election cycle in Florida is expected to rank as among the most expensive in state history. Ad“I don’t know anybody who’s happy with investing $100 million and not winning,” said Manny Diaz, the new chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Diaz, the state party chairman, is trying to reverse the slide in its voter registration advantage over Republicans.

Bruce Rauner, last week gave the Florida governor's campaign committee $250,000. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried joined Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist in calling for federal officials to probe the DeSantis administration’s vaccine distribution programs. AdDuring a Thursday news conference, DeSantis expressed no misgivings about the early vaccinations at the exclusive Key Largo community. In recent weeks, other reports have surfaced of wealthy retirement communities getting exclusive access to vaccine doses through pop-up vaccine sites. Bruce Rauner to the Florida governor's campaign committee.

(AP Photo/Julie Smith, File)FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Palm Beach County defied Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, refusing to lower its courthouse flags to half-staff in honor of the late conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh — a move that the governor's office called “petty.”The county's courthouse flags remained at full staff, ignoring Gov. He also ordered the Town of Palm Beach and the State Capitol in Tallahassee to fly their flags at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday. Officials in the Town of Palm Beach, the wealthy island enclave where Limbaugh lived for two decades, issued a statement saying its policy is to comply with governor's orders to lower the flags. Trump also lives in Palm Beach at his Mar-a-Lago club and he and Limbaugh were close friends.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a possible prelude to Florida’s upcoming gubernatorial campaign, the state’s only Democrat holding statewide office is taking a shot at Gov. Ron DeSantis in a campaign-style video that casts the Republican as unempathetic amid a deadly pandemic and beholden to former President Donald Trump. In her 1-minute video, Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried did not do what many expect her to do sometime in the coming months: Announce a bid to challenge DeSantis for the governor’s mansion in next year’s election. But even if she fell short of making an announcement on a bid, it set off more speculation and could accelerate the jockeying within a Democratic field considering a run against DeSantis.

“If you look at what Florida has done, we have done by far the most for senior citizens,” DeSantis said. Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, a Democrat, accused the Republican governor of mismanaging the vaccine distribution. “This is not a positive roll-out ... Don’t call it a success,” Fried said. Vaccinations next week in South Florida are iffy because there are no new shipments of vaccines scheduled. So far, in Miami-Dade County more than 100,000 people have been vaccinated, more than 77,000 in Broward County, and about 3,000 in Monroe County.

State officials have moved quickly to disavow such scuttlebutt. Ron DeSantis said stories of people flying to Florida, getting vaccinated and returning home are overblown. “We are seeing lines all across the state of Florida. She praised Florida officials for allowing outsiders to get shots. This has nothing to do with where you’re from.”___Lush reported from St. Petersburg, Florida, and Calvan from Tallahassee, Florida.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Joining the latest episode of the This Week in South Florida podcast are FIU infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, Feeding South Florida President Paco Velez, and journalists Nancy Ancrum from the Miami Herald and Steve Bousquet from the Sun Sentinel. Subscribe to the weekly TWISF Podcast on iOS or Android

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Joining the latest episode of This Week in South Florida are FIU infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, Feeding South Florida President Paco Velez, and journalists Nancy Ancrum from the Miami Herald and Steve Bousquet from the Sun Sentinel. The full episode can be viewed at the top of this page.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The lone Democrat elected statewide is often the voice of opposition and it again at it this week. Nikki Fried, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, has been a vocal critic of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ direction on coronavirus health and safety. This week, she was one of the first to come to the defense of data analyst Rebekah Jones, who was fired for insubordination last spring and was recently targeted with a search warrant. Fried joined This Week in South Florida hosts Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg to discuss, and their conversation can be seen at the top of this page.

38,349 new CWL applications were received in October in addition to 8,590 CWL renewal applications. FDACS has received at least 36,000 new CWL applications every month since July 2020. FDACS received 202,698 new CWL applications in 2019 and 188,900 new CWL applications in 2018. It is currently processing approximately 10,000 CWL applications per week. Under Fried’s leadership, she said, the Division of Licensing reduced initial review times by up to 98 percent for new applications.

WYNWOOD, Fla. – The cars and people showed up by the dozens in a last-ditch message to voters. “The only way that we take back our country and take back the White House is if Miami-Dade votes,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. “This is the only way,” said rally attendee Etiony Aldarondo. “We don’t want anyone to be left out, we don’t want anyone left behind,” she said. “The idea is to get everybody excited and wanting to go out and vote,” said rally attendee Maria Crespo.

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – “Now listen, you delivered twice for me, Florida, and now I am asking you to deliver for Joe and deliver for Kamala,” former President Barack Obama said Saturday at a drive-in rally at Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay campus in North Miami. The Biden campaign’s most high-profile surrogate, was in South Florida to stump for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. [RELATED: President Trump casts ballot in person in West Palm Beach]Obama talked much about the pandemic, President Trump, Obamacare, healthcare, the economy, and, of course, why people should vote for the Biden-Harris ticket. We can’t find it,” which elicited much car-horn “applause.”The full video of Obama’s speech can be seen below:Obama speech North Miami WATCH LIVE: Former President Barack Obama speaks at a drive-in campaign rally for Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden in North Miami. “I looked at the crowd that was — that President Obama had.

Found in India, it is a horntail snail (Macrochlamys indica), UF scientists discovered and FDACS confirmed it. Miami-Dade County is the first known place where a horntail snail has been found in the United States. Research is continuing to gather further information about the horntail snail, according to Commissioner Nikki Fried, who heads the FDACS. “The horntail snail is an invasive pest with the potential to cause serious health implications for Floridians,” she said. Inspectors combed the area where it was found and discovered more of the snail sites in Miami-Dade County.

The 2,000-acre (809-hectare) fire in Santa Rosa County, located just east of Pensacola, prompted the evacuation of 1,100 homes Wednesday. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news conference Thursday afternoon that fire officials are working around the clock to contain the wildfires. Rich Aloy, with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, was patrolling Wednesday when he and other deputies rescued an older couple trapped by a burning power line. The Santa Rosa County fire began Monday when a prescribed burn by a private contractor got out of control, Fried said. Crews from other areas of Florida, including Jacksonville, are assisting firefighters who've been working long hours since Monday.

Co-hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney sit down with Florida Agriculture Commissioner, Nikki Fried for an in-depth discussion.

Co-hosts Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney are joined by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried. SUBSCRIBE TO THE TWISF PODCAST - iOS | AndroidCopyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.