RICK SCOTT

With Republicans in contention to win back the House and Senate, many corporations and top lobbyists have resumed giving.

The senator danced around questions about Trump's ongoing efforts to undermine democracy.

Critical race theory has become a lightning rod for Republicans and an issue in the Virginia governor's race.

Highlights of this day in history: The Stamp Act takes effect; The U.S. explodes first hydrogen bomb; Sistine Chapel paintings are first shown to the public; Algerian nationalists begin rebellion against French rule; NFL's Walter Payton dies. (Nov. 1)

Fox News SundayFox News anchor Chris Wallace repeatedly pressed Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) over his supposed concerns about the national debt and deficit, asking the Florida lawmaker if he would support repealing the 2017 Trump tax cuts to help balance the budget.With Republicans uniformly opposed to the Biden administration’s Build Back Better social spending agenda, Wallace welcomed Scott onto Fox News Sunday to react to the growing possibility that Democrats may finally pass a pared-down version

Former President Donald Trump struggled during his first year in office to get his nominees confirmed in a timely fashion in the Senate.

The president’s decision could cost Democrats in 2022 and 2024. He doesn’t care.

A Florida judge has ruled the state cannot enforce its ban on mask mandates in public schools to guard against the coronavirus while an appeals court sorts out whether the ban is ultimately legal.

South Florida’s Republicans in Washington aren’t getting behind Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fight against local mask mandates in schools.

Florida’s two U.S. senators voted against a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday, rejecting a carefully negotiated agreement crafted during marathon meetings on Capitol Hill between Democrats and Republicans.

Six months into the Biden administration, Senate Democrats are expressing a cautious optimism that the party can keep control of the chamber in the 2022 midterm elections, enjoying large fundraising hauls in marquee races as they plot to exploit Republican retirements in key battlegrounds and a divisive series of unsettled GOP primaries. Swing-state Democratic incumbents, like Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Mark Kelly of Arizona, restocked their war chests with multimillion-dollar sums ($7

The Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee on Thursday announced plans to intervene in the Justice Department's lawsuit against Georgia over its voting restrictions. Driving the news: RNC chair Ronna McDaniel and NRSC chair Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) seek to fight the lawsuit because they say "the security of the ballot is more important than Democrat power grabs," per McDaniel.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Catch u

U.S. State Department officials are actively expediting visas for family members of victims and survivors of the Surfside condo collapse.

Eight people were pulled out of the rubble, and one victim passed away at the hospital, officials said on Sunday. Another 150 people remain missing.

After days of pleading from families, officials are arranging for loved ones of the missing and dead from the Champlain Tower condo collapse to visit the wreckage as early as Sunday afternoon to grieve and pray.

Defunding the police was never going to happen, but police reform is still alive.

The former president’s imprimatur is “the most important factor” to Republican candidates, strategists say, even as Trump advisers counsel for more sparing use.

Congressional bargainers say they’ve agreed to a bipartisan framework for overhauling policing procedures.

Scott McIntyreAs their marquee bill to overhaul U.S. elections met the buzzsaw that is the U.S. Senate, Democrats were beginning to grapple with one possible silver lining of this expected failure: turning it into a political weapon.On Tuesday, all 50 Senate Democrats voted to begin debate on the For The People Act, perhaps better known by its bill number, S.1. But all 50 Senate Republicans voted to block it. And with 60 votes needed to move to the bill under current Senate rules, the bill Democ

Former President Donald Trump's private club was paid over $175,000 in May by the RNC to host its donor retreat.

Florida Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio say the cruise industry should be able to resume normal operations immediately — and argue that any continued government intervention needlessly hurts passengers, industry employees and contractors in Florida as COVID-19 case numbers continue to decline.

Enough with the Obama excuse, Florida Legislature.

The way Republicans have pushed the myth marks a dangerous turn from generalized allegations of fraud to refusing to accept the legitimacy of elections, experts say A Trump supporter holds a ‘Stop the Steal’ sign in Denver, Colorado, on 6 January. Photograph: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images Sign up for the Guardian’s Fight to Vote newsletter Just a few days after the polls closed in Florida’s 2018 general election, Rick Scott, then the state’s governor, held a press conference outside the governor’s

"This recognition from both the House and Senate means so much to the LGBTQ+ community," Pulse Orlando wrote of the decision on Facebook.

For four years, former President Donald Trump ignored a campaign promise to reduce the federal debt, and the COVID-19 pandemic spurred enormous amounts of government spending under Trump and President Joe Biden.

Nevada Democrat Jacky Rosen is bent on being bipartisan in a Washington that is anything but.

The head of the Senate Republican political arm says he expects former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt to challenge Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada next year.

The head of the Senate Republican political arm says he expects former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt to challenge Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada next year. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senate Committee, told The Associated Press that he has been in touch with Laxalt, whom he considers “a great candidate.” “I think Adam will run,” Scott said in a recent interview.

Republicans are fighting to seize control of Congress.

Republicans are fighting to seize control of Congress. Look no further for evidence of the GOP's muddled governing agenda than battleground North Carolina, where party leaders packed into a convention hall Saturday night to cheer former President Donald Trump. Without such a strategy heading into 2022, Republicans on the ballot risk allowing themselves to be wholly defined by Trump, who lost his last election when he drew 7 million fewer votes nationally than Democrat Joe Biden and who has seen his popularity slide further, even among some Republicans, since leaving office in January.

More and more Senate Republicans are coming out against a bipartisan congressional commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Florida’s two senators are among them.

We love manatees in Florida.

President Joe Biden's plan to share an additional 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses overseas brings the U.S. total exports to 80 million. But experts and some policymakers say it's not enough. Driving the news: The world has reached a situation of "vaccine apartheid", World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, saying "the big problem is a lack of sharing."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe big picture: The low U.S. export numbers were at first defended as a strategy to ensure Americans are vaccinated first. But now the administration is being confronted by calls for a stronger involvement of vaccine diplomacy as domestic demand diminishes.80 million doses is a "drop in the bucket," and the U.S. should pledge to manufacture and export 4-to-5-billion doses by the end of the year, Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN. G7 countries and the European Union can afford to donate more than 150 million vaccines to countries in need without compromising their own goals, UNICEF said on Monday.By the numbers: The U.S. has received more than four dozen requests for vaccine donations from countries across the world. China and Russia have exported larger shares of its vaccine production than the U.S., an analysis from Airfinity shows.China has shipped 252 million doses overseas, or 42% of its total production. The European Union has exported 111 million doses — more than a third of its total. Still, the announcement of 60 million doses was already a major boost to the severely strained global supply, Axios' Dave Lawler notes, considering the COVAX initiative has distributed about 45 million doses globally.Some Republicans — and Democrats — have become increasingly vocal in the U.S.’s vaccine diplomacy efforts, highlighting concerns lower-income countries are looking to U.S. competitors Russia and China for doses. "The U.S. should set a goal of vaccinating more than one billion people around the world by Thanksgiving—and without dumping intellectual property," Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) writes in a Monday op-ed to WSJ. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) tweeted: "I’m glad that @POTUS has answered my calls to distribute extra U.S. COVID vaccines to our allies across the globe. As the Administration crafts its excess vaccine distribution plan, I again urge them to consider the people of Venezuela and the Bahamas."What to watch: The administration has yet to announce how the doses will be shared or which countries will receive them.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

Before Matt Gaetz rose to national prominence as an ardent backer of Donald Trump, the now-Florida congressman carved out an unusual reputation as a Republican state lawmaker who wanted to liberalize marijuana laws.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and several other potential 2024 presidential candidates are descending upon Texas next week to thank donors to the 2020 campaign here and to help raise money to flip the U.S House next year.

<figcaption> Vice President Mike Pence spoke during President Donald Trump’s rally at the Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20, 2020. <cite>Credit: Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman via USA TODAY NETWORK</cite> </figcaption>

The Senate has confirmed Bill Nelson, a former Florida senator who once flew on the space shuttle, to be the next NASA administrator.

The No. 2 House Republican says party leaders would “take action” against Rep. Matt Gaetz if the Justice Department formally moves ahead with legal action against him.

Florida’s two Republican senators are steering clear of voicing support for Rep. Matt Gaetz.

A day after the Republican Senate fundraising group praised Trump, he blasted the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, in a Florida speech.

Former President Donald Trump is staking his claim to the Republican Party in a closed-door speech to donors Saturday night, casting his populist policies and attack-dog politics as the key to future Republican success.

The Republican Party is bringing hundreds of donors and several presidential prospects to the former president’s doorstep in south Florida this weekend.

Florida Senator Rick Scott on future of Republican party Senator Rick Scott joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss the future of the Republican Party amid an apparent divide, and how he plans to flip the Senate in 2022.

– Not waiting for more federal help, states have been approving their own coronavirus aid packages, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to help residents and business owners devastated by the the pandemic's economic fallout. Directing federal money to state governments has been so contentious that the idea was stripped from the previous congressional aid package passed in December. “The cascading effect, it’s actually a problem that most states are grappling with ... waiting for the relief money out of the feds,” she said. They also are still figuring out how to spend another $1.8 billion in federal money that Congress approved in December. And for some of those who do receive it, the extra state money represents just a fraction of the financial hit they have taken during the pandemic.

Former President Trump is scheduled to attend the Republican National Committee's spring donor retreat in Florida this April, according to a Republican familiar with the situation and an invitation obtained by CBS News. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel is scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump this week, a source confirmed to CBS News. State and local Republican parties have censured some of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump shot back at McConnell in a statement days later, calling the minority leader, "a dour, sullen, & unsmiling political hack." Mr. Trump is scheduled to make his first public speech since leaving office on Sunday at CPAC, a conservative political conference.

Former President Trump is scheduled to attend the Republican National Committee's spring donor retreat in Florida this April, according to a Republican familiar with the situation and an invitation obtained by CBS News. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel is scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump this week, a source confirmed to CBS News. State and local Republican parties have censured some of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump shot back at McConnell in a statement days later, calling the minority leader, "a dour, sullen, & unsmiling political hack." Mr. Trump is scheduled to make his first public speech since leaving office on Sunday at CPAC, a conservative political conference.

Mr. Trump has also said that he wants to to see South Dakota Senator John Thune, the number two Republican in the Senate, challenged in a primary. Scott said that he hasn't spoken with President Trump since he left office. Republicans won't have incumbent candidates running in North Carolina or Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson hasn't said if he'll seek re-election. He said it would be up to each Republican senator, including those up for reelection, to decide whether to vote to convict former President Trump. Republicans who vote to convict Mr. Trump could end up facing primary challengers backed by the former president.

The GOP already faces a difficult Senate map in 2022, when 14 Democratic-held seats and 20 Republican ones will be on the ballot. That includes at least two open seats that Republicans will be defending because of the retirements of GOP Sens. One of those lawmakers, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, is the new chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a post that makes him the public face of the Senate Republican fundraising efforts. But two senior Republican strategists involved in Senate races say the cumulative effect of the companies' decisions could have a bigger impact. That puts more pressure on the NRSC and the leading Senate Republican outside group, Senate Leadership Fund, to cover the difference.

Florida accounts for about a fifth of the country’s wetlands and includes the Everglades, among the state’s most important environmental jewels. “The fact is that Florida’s proposed program to take over wetlands permitting doesn’t comply with federal environmental laws,” she said. Florida becomes the third state to gain broader permitting authority of wetlands under the federal Clean Water Act. Florida's request to gain sole permitting authority was launched under the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, took on that mantle and earlier this year formally petitioned the federal government to transfer that authority.

The Senate had only hours to prevent a government shutdown Friday as lawmakers threatened to hold up swift passage of a spending bill. Lawmakers hope the bill will give them more time to strike elusive full-year funding and coronavirus relief deals. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Braun of Indiana want to tie a bill to end government shutdowns to the one-week funding measure. It is unclear now whether any of the lawmakers will actually delay the spending bill's passage and let funding lapse. The Senate cleared one potential hurdle when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told reporters he would not hold up the appropriations bill.

Scott, 67, has been quarantining at home all week after coming into contact in Florida on Nov. 13 with someone who subsequently tested positive. Scott, a Republican, said he was “feeling good” despite the mild symptoms and would be working at his home in Naples. “I want to remind everyone to be careful and do the right things to protect yourselves and others,” Scott said in a statement. House members could be regularly tested in the Capitol starting this week, but there is still no testing protocol for senators. The absence Scott and Grassley on Tuesday helped Democrats block the nomination of Judy Shelton, Trump’s controversial pick for the Federal Reserve.

Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks after the Senate Republican GOP leadership election on Capitol Hill in Washington, November 10, 2020. Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Friday he has tested positive for the coronavirus and is working from home until he can safely return to Washington. Scott, 67, is the second Republican senator in a week to test positive for Covid-19: 87-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa announced his own diagnosis three days earlier. Just a week earlier, Scott had campaigned in Georgia for GOP Sens. During that trip, Scott appeared in a crowded restaurant and spoke without wearing a mask before a crowd in which mask-wearing was reportedly minimal.

Georgia would like a few moments of presidential campaign time. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas senator widely viewed as having presidential ambitions, will campaign in central Georgia on Friday. Meanwhile, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has sent a flurry of fundraising emails coaxing rank-and-file Republicans to bankroll the Georgia runoff campaigns. That popularity makes it politically risky for Republicans with White House ambitions to call out Trump’s falsehoods. On Cotton’s future plans, Colas said, “The senator remains focused on 2020.”For Democrats, there’s less future presidential intrigue to blend into the Georgia campaign.

Instead, the sprint to the Jan. 5 runoffs for two seats in Georgia will determine whether the Senate becomes a Republican-held check on Biden's agenda or a Democratic partnership with the new White House. With a Democratic Senate, Biden would have allies to easily confirm his nominees, including for cabinet positions, and shape passage of legislation. If Republicans keep control, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell can block Biden's agenda. Senate Republicans need Trump — and his voters — on board for the Georgia race. Loeffler and Perdue stunned many this week when they jointly called their own state election system an “embarrassment" as Biden was leading over Trump.

The film follows Fuentes and other survivors who became gun-control advocates after the tragedy in Parkland.Before she knew it, Scott was handing Fuentes a phone with President Donald Trump on the other line.“That was a very interesting call, for sure,” Fuentes recalls. He’s a man who lacks empathy, common sense and understanding.”In 2018, Fuentes told the New York Times after the phone call that she had “never been so unimpressed by a person in my life. Get angry because the current state of the United States right now is disastrous for so many people. That’s not going to happen with just one election. It’s going to take hundreds of thousands of people to have their voices heard.”is currently streaming for free at the Alamo Drafthouse’s Virtual Cinema from now through Election Day, November 3.

State leaders eliminated computer punchcard ballots, implemented statewide recount laws and made it easy to cast and process ballots before Election Day. Though there are other scenarios that make elections officials nervous, the computer punch-card ballots that fueled 2000's chaos are buried in history's landfill. Casting valid ballots and processing them is now easier, even before Election Day, and the Legislature has enacted clearer laws governing recounts. If the statewide margin then is within a half-percentage point — likely about 55,000 votes — a machine recount would occur. These voters are notified and have until two days after the election to prove their identity, but many won’t respond.

While the Sunshine State is known for election-night hiccups and razor-thin margins, Pinellas County isn't usually among the trouble spots. MacManus notes that the county has turned a lot bluer since 2016, when there were about 2,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. These days there are just over 5,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, according to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections' website, and a total of just over 711,000 registered voters. That is not playing well with citizens of Pinellas County." Even in Pinellas the margin is smaller than it was at the peak, when there were about 9,000 more registered Democrats, Scott admits.

COLUMBIA, S.C. With one stroke, President Donald Trumps abrupt reversal on offshore drilling this week has loosened a political vise that was tightening around three Republicans senators running for reelection in coastal states where drilling is widely opposed. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia, all Democratic targets. Brian Kemp, another Trump ally, and his Republican predecessor, Nathan Deal, have opposed drilling off the state's 100-mile (160 km) coast. The decision by President Trump to include South Carolina meets the desires of our coastal communities and states leadership, Graham said. I very much appreciate President Trump for listening to our state and delivering for our people.___Ben Nadler in Atlanta contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON Republicans this week are focused squarely on their convention's star, President Donald Trump, and securing his reelection in November. Theres a lot happening behind the scenes already," said Republican strategist Alex Conant, who worked for the 2016 campaign of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Also allotted time slots: Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Florida Sen. Rick Scott and Donald Trump Jr. "Theres others out there, but nobody else is even close in that stratosphere.Much will depend on whether Trump secures a second term. In her convention speech Monday night, Haley gave an unabashed endorsement of the president while spending time introducing herself to viewers.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A far-right social media provocateur whose hate speech got her banned from social media won her Republican primary on Tuesday and will challenge Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel for Congress in November. Laura Loomer also won praise from President Donald Trump early Wednesday, who tweeted that she has a great chance." Loomer received 43% in a six-candidate Republican field, garnering 14,500 votes. Frankel, running against a political newcomer, received 75,000 votes, or 86% in the Democratic primary, which had 87,000 votes cast. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Medium, PayPal, Venmo, GoFundMe, Uber and Lyft have banned her, but her messages get out through tweets by supporters and other workarounds, the Palm Beach Post reported.

She burned through her savings while awaiting financial relief from Floridas unemployment office. DeSantis has acknowledged that the unemployment system known as CONNECT was like a jalopy in the Daytona 500 being left in the dust." And that relates to management of the system.Florida's unemployment woes add to the troubles for Trump five months from Election Day. In April, Floridas unemployment rate hit 12.9%, up from 2.8% in February. Its one of those things where once the issue is solved, its going to disappear, said Florida Republican Party chairperson Joe Gruters.

The now-depleted Paycheck Protection Program was designed to provide forgivable loans to small businesses if they kept workers on the payroll during the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic. AdvertisementThe package would add $60 billion to a separate emergency loan program for small businesses that also is out of money, $75 billion for hospitals, and $25 billion to increase COVID-19 testing. AdvertisementYou ought to have a big downturn in your business before you get this money any of this money. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris also demanded Monday that Mnuchin explain why California received the fewest number of loans in relation to the total number of small businesses of any state. Citing a Wall Street Journal comparison, the senators argued that Californias businesses have been closed longer than those in other states and it is difficult to understand why Californias small businesses would qualify for so much less aid than others.

"We clearly wouldn't have had the same problem if China had been transparent," Sen. Rick Scott said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." The beach will be closed to the public starting at 6am, Sunday, March 21, 2020 to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. Trump has called coronavirus the "Chinese virus" and said that the Chinese government could have stopped it from spreading to other countries. Trump's economic agenda has been marked by an aggressive trade dispute with China, America's chief financial rival on the world stage. The country originally reprimanded a doctor, Dr. Li Wenliang, who spread early warnings about coronavirus and died of it.

Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt., then said he would delay the bill if his GOP colleagues did not drop their opposition, calling it an "outrage" to prevent Americans from getting emergency unemployment insurance. Asked about the GOP senators' criticism of the unemployment plan during a White House briefing Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said "I don't think it'll create incentives" not to work. Pelosi criticized the GOP senators for their opposition to the legislation. He noted that the legislation aims to both make sure companies have enough money to cover payroll and create a stronger unemployment insurance program for those who lose their jobs. It's also important to remember that nobody who voluntarily leaves an available job is eligible for [unemployment insurance]," he said.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The expanding coronavirus outbreak threw daily American life into turmoil on Thursday as more professional sports leagues suspended their seasons, Broadway theaters canceled performances, and new restrictions caused chaos in trans-Atlantic airline travel. California and New York announced sweeping bans on large gatherings and more schools, museums and other institutions announced plans to close. In Washington, officials ordered the U.S. Capitol complex closed to much of the public starting on Thursday, a day after a staffer for a senator from Washington state tested positive for the coronavirus. More than 1,300 U.S. cases of coronavirus have been confirmed and 38 people have died. U.S. companies have announced 633 layoffs related to the outbreak through Thursday morning, according to global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

GOP Sen. Rick Scott on Monday railed against what he calls the impeachment "circus" surrounding President Donald Trump, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of playing games. "She just hates Trump," Scott said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "Clearly what Pelosi has done is a circus, it's a sham," the Florida Republican added. Scott was referring to the speaker's delay in sending to the Senate the two articles of impeachment passed by the House last month. The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and is backed by Senate Republicans, who are unlikely to vote to remove the GOP president.

Republican Sen.Rick Scott told CNBC on Wednesday that he has little doubt President Donald Trump will stay in office for the remainder of his term despite ongoing impeachment proceedings. The Democratic-controlled House is expected to vote Wednesday to approve two articles of impeachment, which would then be passed along to the Senate for trial in the new year. But Scott, a key ally of Trump, that said much of the Democrats' arguments stem from "hearsay" and falsities. "The bottom line is, this is an impeachment trial and you have to think of it that way," Scott said on "Squawk Box." On Tuesday, Trump sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a raging, six-page letter that called the impeachment process an "illegal, partisan attempted coup."

The 2022 Winter Olympics shouldn't be held in China, Sen. Rick Scott said Tuesday, referring to the recent standoff between Beijing and the NBA as well as the Chinese regime's human rights violations. The Hong Kong protests, which have escalated over the past four months, began in response to a now-withdrawn proposed extradition bill that activists said would threaten judicial protections. "Human rights are important to us in America," the senator said. "There's no human rights over there. They're trying to take them away from China, or from Hong Kong."

Americans need to stop buying products made in China because other punitive measures in the trade war haven't been effective, Sen. Rick Scott told CNBC on Monday. "I think we ought to spend all our time thinking about how do we buy American products," the Florida Republican said on "Squawk Box." "Stop buying Chinese products. Scott said the reason he is arguing for Americans to stop buying Chinese products is because steps taken by President Donald Trump's administration haven't yielded change, though he described tariffs as the "only leverage" the U.S. has. "We have to stand up to China," Scott said.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump expressed a commitment Sunday, hours after the latest deadly mass shooting, to work with a divided Congress to "stop the menace of mass attacks." The president said it would be "wonderful to say" he'd work to "eliminate" mass shootings, but acknowledged that that was unlikely. Trump told reporters earlier Sunday that he's been speaking to lawmakers from both political parties and "people want to do something." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the Republican-controlled Senate to "end its obstruction" and send the gun violence measures to Trump. In the days immediately after the August shootings in Texas and Ohio, Trump said he was eager to implement "very meaningful background checks," saying there was "tremendous support" for it.

Crews repair downed power lines in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Michael, in October 2018. HOLLYWOOD HILLS, Fla. - Florida has launched a website to monitor generators in nursing homes and long-term care facilities as Hurricane Dorian gets closer. The state demanded safety improvements after 12 people died when Hurricane Irma knocked out power at a nursing home in 2017. The facilities must have an emergency power plan to make sure air conditioners keep temperatures under 81 degrees. At 105 mph, Dorian is the strongest storm of the Atlantic hurricane season so far.

Republican Sen. Rick Scott told CNBC on Monday the U.S. government should return money collected from China tariffs to Americans as tax relief. President Donald Trump, earlier this month announced an impeding 10% tariff on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese goods that had not been previously taxed. Back In May, Trump hiked tariffs to 25% from 10% on $200 billion in Chinese goods. "We have to help American companies ... and get more American jobs and stop helping China," Scott said. "I'm not sure what else we can do, other than stand up for American interests and American values," he wondered.

In late 2018, Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis ruled that the law is unconstitutional and permanently blocked it. His ruling came after the states Supreme Court approved an injunction against the law that was passed by the legislature and signed by then-governor Rick Scott in 2015. Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in the United States. Similar legal battles have ensued over restrictive abortion laws across the United States in recent months and years. Anti-abortion activists have said they hope to prompt the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling by enacting laws that are assured of facing court challenges.

The Senate on Thursday passed a bill to increase the U.S. budget and lift the debt ceiling for the next two years. The spending deal now heads to the Oval Office to be signed by President Donald Trump. The bill passed the House last week despite weak support from Republicans, even after Trump urged them to vote for the deal. Meanwhile, total U.S. government debt now tops $22 trillion, and the White House Office of Management and Budget projects a $1 trillion deficit for 2019. The deal was expected to reach the 60-vote threshold required to pass in the Senate.