Brent Batten: Secession Idea Quickly Goes South

Florida’s 2024 congressional races are now set, with only one member of Congress getting a pass and returning to office without facing the voters. The Friday deadline for candidates to qualify kicks off the four-month campaign until the Aug. 20 Democratic and Republican primaries. It’s already started, with one Republican congressional candidate in Palm Beach County releasing a TV ad this week challenging so-called “woke” ideology. The outlook was uncertain until the last minute, and the deadline brought a surprise: Luther Campbell, the rap star-turned-coach and civic activist, opted against challenging U.

Four years after Broward County elected its first Black state attorney and its first Black public defender, both men learned Friday that they will likely coast to a second term without opposition. Friday was the qualification deadline for anyone who intends to run against Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor and Broward Public Defender Gordon Weekes.

By PAT EATON-ROBB (Associated Press) Harvey Weinstein will appear in a New York City court next week, the first step in potentially retrying the film mogul after his 2020 rape conviction was overturned. New York’s highest court on Thursday threw out Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, ordering a new trial. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has said it intends to pursue a retrial, but gave no indication about the agenda for Wednesday’s hearing. “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement Friday. Meanwhile, a woman Weinstein was sent to prison for sexually assaulting said Friday she is considering whether she would testify at any retrial. Mimi Haley said she is still processing Thursday’s decision by the state Court of Appeals and is considering numerous factors, including the trauma of having to prepare for another trial and again relive what happened to her. “It was retraumatizing and grueling and exhausting and all the things,” she said during a news conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred.

By JOSH FUNK, MARGERY A. BECK and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH (Associated Press) OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday afternoon, damaging hundreds of homes and other structures as the twister tore for miles along farmland and into subdivisions. Injuries were reported but it wasn’t yet clear if anyone was killed in the storm. Multiple tornadoes were reported in Nebraska but the most destructive storm moved from a largely rural area into suburbs northwest of Omaha, a city of 485,000 people. Photos on social media showed heavily damaged homes and shredded trees.

MIAMI GARDENS — There’s more to the unique story of Chop Robinson, the Miami Dolphins’ top pick in the 2024 draft, than his incredible athletic traits, quick first step off the line of scrimmage or high pressure rate on the edge for Penn State. Robinson, whose real first name is Demeioun, was given the “Chop” moniker because he was originally nicknamed “Pork Chop” at birth since he was born 14 pounds. “Got older, slimmed down, took the pork out, kept the chop,” Robinson said, wearing a blinged-out chain that read ‘Chop’ with an ax that resembles his sack celebration at his introductory press conference Friday afternoon. He also grew up as one of 10 siblings in his family.

By The Associated Press South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — a potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump — is getting attention again. This time, it’s for a new book where she writes about killing an unruly dog, and a smelly goat, too. The Guardian obtained a copy of Noem’s soon-to-be released book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.” In it, she tells the story of the ill-fated Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer she was training for pheasant hunting. She writes, according to the Guardian, that the tale was included to show her willingness to do anything “difficult, messy and ugly” if it has to be done.