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Gov. DeSantis awards FSU officers Medal of Heroism for on-campus bravery during shooting

Gov. DeSantis awards FSU officers Medal of Heroism for on-campus bravery during shooting

Yahoo30-04-2025
Gov. Ron DeSantis has presented Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower and seven FSUPD officers with the Governor's Medal of Heroism.
Officers responded with "valor" to confront and take down 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, who opened fire nearly two weeks on the Florida State University campus, killing two and leaving six injured.
"These brave officers ran toward danger at great personal risk and potential sacrifice to protect students and staff on FSU's campus," DeSantis posted on social media April 30. "This is truly answering the call of duty and putting others first."
An FSU police officer was the first to fire shots at Ikner, stopping his on-campus rampage within three minutes of the first report of gunfire.
Under state law, a governor can give the Medal of Heroism to a first responder who "distinguished himself or herself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity."
The recipient must have risked one's life "above and beyond the call of duty" and engaged in "hazardous or perilous activities to preserve lives with the knowledge that such activities might result in great personal harm."
"Thank you to each of the eight officers recognized today for exemplifying heroism; this is an honor well deserved," DeSantis wrote.
Local government watchdog reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gov. DeSantis honors FSU police for heroism during campus shooting
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Should Iowa Democrats go 'rogue' and go first with 2028 caucuses? Survey seeks party input
Should Iowa Democrats go 'rogue' and go first with 2028 caucuses? Survey seeks party input

Yahoo

time36 minutes ago

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Should Iowa Democrats go 'rogue' and go first with 2028 caucuses? Survey seeks party input

This story will be updated. As national Democrats begin gearing up for a conversation about the 2028 presidential nominating calendar, Iowa Democrats are asking themselves whether they want to obey the national party's process or go "rogue' with a renewed push for first-in-the-nation status. In a new survey set to be released to Iowa Democrats Thursday, Aug. 21, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart writes that although the party's focus is on winning elections in 2026, 'discussions about the 2028 nominating process have begun.' 'Without an incumbent president on the ballot, we are likely to have one of the deepest and longest nominating campaigns in history,' she wrote in the survey introduction. 'Unlike 2024, the outcome of the presidential nominating process will be in doubt. As Iowa Democrats, we have choices to make about how to proceed.' The survey, which was shared first with the Des Moines Register, includes five questions focused on: The timing of the caucuses; How much to favor tradition versus inclusion; The trade-offs associated with cost and resource allocation; Whether it's important to comply with the Democratic National Committee's rules about the primary calendar; And whether it's important to comply with state law. State law has long required Iowa to hold the first presidential nominating contest in the country. And in 2023, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a new law requiring the Iowa Caucuses to take place in person, rather than by mail-in ballot. The party said the survey will be open to any lowan who has participated in or wants and plans toparticipate in an lowa Democratic Party Caucus. The survey will close at midnight on Nov. 15. Hart is scheduled to address the survey and take questions at a 10 a.m. Aug. 21 news conference. It comes just days before the DNC is scheduled to convene its summer meeting in Minneapolis beginning Aug. 25. At that meeting, the DNC's newly appointed members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee will be seated and could begin discussing the formal process they'll use to set the presidential nominating calendar. Iowa Democrat and longtime Rules and Bylaws Committee member Scott Brennan was removed from that panel this year in an apparent signal of Iowa's waning influence. At the same time, New Hampshire, which defied the Democratic Party's calendar by holding an unsanctioned presidential primary, was awarded a second seat on the powerful committee. More: Iowa loses sole seat on DNC panel overseeing the 2028 presidential nominating calendar Hart writes that the earliest there will be an approved process for determining the nominating calendar will be when the DNC meets again in December. Abhi Rahman, deputy communications director for the DNC, previously said in a statement to the Register that Iowa would still have a chance to participate in conversations about the 2028 calendar, even without a sitting member of the Rules and Bylaws committee. "The DNC is committed to running a fair, transparent, and rigorous process for the 2028 primary calendar,' he said. 'All states will have an opportunity to participate. Iowa's DNC members and (Iowa Democratic Party) Chair Rita Hart are fierce advocates for Iowa Democrats, and they will have their voices heard during that process." 'Devil is in the details' when it comes to caucus planning National Democrats stripped Iowa of their first-in-the-nation caucus spot and reordered the nominating calendar in 2022 following a disastrous 2020 presidential caucus year when the results were riddled with delays and errors. At the behest of then-Democratic President Joe Biden, the committee demoted both Iowa and New Hampshire, which have traditionally led off the primary process, and promoted South Carolina to lead off the 2024 presidential nominating calendar. Iowa Democrats largely chose to acquiesce to the DNC's demands, hoping that if they played by the DNC's rules in 2024, the national party would reevaluate whether to restore Iowa to the early voting window in 2028. So the party converted its longstanding caucuses into a fully absentee mail-in event with the results announced on Super Tuesday in March 2024. They met in-person only to conduct party business the same day Iowa Republicans held their caucuses. Now, Hart said, it's time to rethink what's important to Iowa Democrats ahead of a newly competitive 2028 primary cycle. 'I know that many Iowa Democrats have deeply held beliefs about the caucus and nominating process,' Hart wrote. 'Having been through the 2024 cycle, I can tell you the devil is in the details. There are going to be disagreements about specifics and logistical challenges to any plan. My goal in this process is unity around our shared values.' What's on the Iowa Democratic Party's 2028 caucus survey? The first question on the party's survey is about timing. 'The Iowa Caucuses could potentially be first, in an early window with three or four other states, or Super Tuesday or later,' it says. 'Do you have a preference for Iowa's role in the nominating process or do you not care?' Another question focuses on the long-held critique that the party's traditional in-person caucuses limit access for people who work in the evenings, have mobility issues or face an array of other possible barriers to participation. The party should focus on "maximizing participation measured by the total number of voters or caucus goers,' one survey option says. 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"IDP should give no consideration to the DNC process." Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at bpfann@ or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Democrats issue survey on whether to go 'rogue' with 2028 Iowa caucus

Gavin Newsom Pokes Back After Fox News Hosts Critique His Social Media Style: ‘Stop Calling Me Daddy'
Gavin Newsom Pokes Back After Fox News Hosts Critique His Social Media Style: ‘Stop Calling Me Daddy'

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timean hour ago

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Gavin Newsom Pokes Back After Fox News Hosts Critique His Social Media Style: ‘Stop Calling Me Daddy'

Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters bemoan the California governor's online behavior with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Ted Cruz Multiple Fox News hosts did not give Gov. Gavin Newsom a moment's rest on Wednesday night, dogpiling on his attempts at virality with his Trump-esque social media activity. 'A performative confrontational style — maybe it wins you points with the loony radical base in your party, but America is not going to vote for that record,' Sean Hannity said on his show. More from TheWrap Gavin Newsom Pokes Back After Fox News Hosts Critique His Social Media Style: 'Stop Calling Me Daddy' | Video 17 Senators Demand US Pressure Israel Over Killing Palestinian Journalists, Opening Gaza to Media Jack White: Being Insulted by Trump White House 'Is a Badge of Honor for Me' Advisor to NY Mayor Eric Adams Hands Reporter Cash – Hidden in a Bag of Potato Chips The California governor subtweeted a video of Hannity's comments, adding, 'Alllllllmost got it that time,' hinting that his social media activity is a parody of the president's attempts to woo his right-wing fan base. Fellow host Jesse Watters also discussed his antics with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with Watters calling California 'a knife on wheels.' DeSantis, who debated Newsom in 2023, said that Newsom's obsession with President Donald Trump is distracting him from other political duties. 'Why is he spending all this time trying to be fresh with President Trump?' DeSantis asked. 'Why doesn't he do his job and protect the people?' In response to a banner overlaying the pair's conversation, Newsom wrote on X, 'Jesse, please stop calling me Daddy. It's disturbing.' The Fox News banner read: 'Dems look for Big Daddy Energy.' Texas Gov. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, sat down with Hannity on Wednesday and told him that he did not understand how the Democrats screwed up the natural resources and advantages the state had given to them. 'When I'm out there I look around and think, how did these people manage to screw this place up?' Cruz said. 'It's a combination of every bad left wing idea: it's out-of-control taxes; it's out-of-control regulations; it's out-of-control lawsuits.' 'Not to mention the illegals Gavin Newsom is letting in,' he added. 'If you're a murderer or a rapist, come to California. Gavin Newsom wants you to come to California.' Hannity did not, however, that he actually has a personal relationship with Newsom and finds him 'very likable' outside of politics. 'But unfortunately it is his radical policies — that is where the disaster is for him,' he said. 'Pretending to be President Trump is not only embarrassing, it will not negate the disastrous policies and positions and the horrible state California's in.' The post Gavin Newsom Pokes Back After Fox News Hosts Critique His Social Media Style: 'Stop Calling Me Daddy' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

California Democrats to pass redistricting map to offset Texas
California Democrats to pass redistricting map to offset Texas

UPI

time2 hours ago

  • UPI

California Democrats to pass redistricting map to offset Texas

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