| | | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Presented by The Great Courses Plus | Good Tuesday morning. The daily rundown — Between Sunday and Monday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 7,711 (0.7 percent), to 1,065,785; active hospitalizations went up by 55 (1.2 percent), to 4,495; deaths rose by 105 (0.5 percent), to 19,282. While you are away — Gov. Ron DeSantis is scheduled to be in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to help the Trump administration tout news that a vaccine for Covid-19 will be distributed soon. Well, back home he's got a major public relations crisis unfolding that will likely overshadow any news his communications staff decides to upload to social media. Worth a thousand words — The video image of Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents brandishing guns as they entered the home of Rebekah Jones, the former state employee who helped create the state's Covid-19 dashboard before she was fired, has ricocheted across the nation and globe. It sparked an outcry, including from Democrats such as Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is one of the FDLE commissioner's bosses. Fried said on Twitter she was "shocked" by the video and is asking questions of the agency. Not backing down — Look, there are serious allegations involved. FDLE said it got a search warrant because it traced an alleged hack of an internal emergency alert system to Jones' house. Equally serious, Jones says agents put a gun in her face and the face of her children. Jones, who has had some past run-ins with law enforcement over incidents in her personal life, has blamed the raid on the DeSantis administration. During an interview on CNN on Monday evening, she denied having anything to do with the hack under investigation and instead said agents seized her phone and computer so they could try to put a stop to leaks. "If he doesn't know already, DeSantis will know soon enough you have been talking to me," Jones said on Chris Cuomo's program. Jones, who setup an alternate Covid-19 dashboard, also vowed that "doing this to me will not stop me." Credibility gap — Here's the problem DeSantis is dealing with: For months, the administration has stonewalled public record requests related to Covid-19 (and plenty of other issues) and only relented when they were threatened with litigation. The state's surgeon general hasn't been seen publicly in months amid the pandemic and instead DeSantis has been the one controlling the message. Now there's word of purges inside the state health department. Somehow death records denied to media outlets are slipped to a conservative blogger with the tacit cooperation of the administration. The Sun-Sentinel reported last week that local health departments were told to avoid talking about Covid-19 right before the election. And on and on. The administration tries to paint every negative news story as the result of some media narrative designed to punish the governor and its refusal to acknowledge his successes. No, the narrative is the result of what the governor is doing — and not saying to the public. — WHERE'S RON? — Gov. Ron DeSantis is scheduled to be in Washington, D.C., for the Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit at the White House with President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and other governors. | | | | A message from The Great Courses Plus: Don't be stagnant, keep your mind active with The Great Courses Plus . Learn at your own pace with the ability to stream lectures like the Art of Investing anytime, anywhere. Tap into an expansive selection of over 13,000 video streaming lectures from some of the world's greatest minds. Learning should be enjoyable, so start learning today with The Great Courses Plus! | | |
|  | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | 'THEY TOOK EVIDENCE OF CORRUPTION' — "Florida police raid COVID data whistleblower's house with guns drawn," by Sun Sentinel's Skyler Swisher, Cindy Krischer Goodman, Mario Ariza and Brooke Baitinger: "State police raided the home of a former Department of Health data scientist who is accusing Florida officials of wrongfully firing her for refusing to manipulate COVID-19 statistics. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement served the search warrant at Rebekah Jones' Tallahassee home Monday morning in connection with an investigation into who hacked the state's internal notification system with a message urging state employees to come forward with information about Florida's handling of the pandemic." JONES SAYS SHE'S NOT A HACKER — "Did COVID data whistleblower hack Florida's emergency alert system? Police raid home," by Miami Herald's Mary Ellen Klas and Ana Ceballos: "'Hacking is not something I ever thought they would accuse me of because I have never displayed any capability of doing that,' she said. 'I've never taken any computer courses or anything like that. I do statistics in a software program designed basically to do all that stuff for you by clicking stuff.' In an affidavit signed by FDLE investigator Noel Pratt on Dec. 3, he concluded the email message was sent to approximately 1,750 accounts before it was discovered. Pratt said in the affidavit that he tracked down the IP address of the computer associated with the email and it directed him to Jones' home address, which he said was probable cause to conduct a search of her property and seize her computers. Jones said FDLE agents told her the Department of Health's inspector general's office gave them her IP address. 'I guess they just signed off on that and showed up at my house with guns,' she said." THIS SEEMS IMPORTANT — "Agents raid home of fired Florida data scientist who built COVID-19 numbers," by Tallahassee Democrat's Jeffrey Schweers: "Jones told a reporter for the USA Today Network-Florida that her sources at DOH told her an email had gone out across the department from the ESF-8 email account around the time that five of eight team leaders had been fired. Jones told the reporter that a series of firings and resignations in DOH, including recently departed public information officer Alberto Moscoso's departure, were 'a purge.' 'It's like a massacre. And those aren't the only people that have been fired or left,' she said." | 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a new conference about the surge in coronavirus cases. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) | 'DANGEROUS PLACE' — "White House COVID-19 report to Florida issues urgent warnings to combat virus," by Bay News 9's Samantha-Jo Roth: "Florida remains in the red zone, with rising cases, test positivity and elevated hospitalizations, according to the November 29 White House Coronavirus Task Force weekly report. 'We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity,' the November 29 report says. Immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday, 93% of all Florida counties experienced moderate or high levels of community transmission, the November 29 report said. The state remains in the red zone for its high rate of new cases per capita, ranking 36th in the nation, up from the 37th slot the previous week." ATTENTION SEN. RUBIO — "A black Ferrari and $62,000 at the casino: How some are living large with COVID relief aid," by Sun Sentinel's Wells Dusenbury: "Court records obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel shed new light on how extensive the COVID-19 relief fraud has been across the region. One man accused of fraud applied for and received a loan, claiming the money was for his business. Instead, he spent $95,000 at jewelry stores, $62,000 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, $6,630 on flights, $5,300 at Gucci, $2,000 at Dior, and $1,000 at Milano Exchange, prosecutors say." JOINING IN — " GOP's Mike Caruso to call on governor, lawmakers to back mask mandate," by Palm Beach Post: "State Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, said Monday he will call on Gov. Ron DeSantis and his fellow Republican lawmakers to adopt a statewide mask mandate in the face of rising coronavirus cases. 'We have reached a point where this is something (a mask mandate) that needs to be done,' Caruso said, adding that some of his colleagues agree with him but are not yet ready to publicly say so. He expects the issue to come up next month when the Legislature returns to Tallahassee." WORTH NOTING — "Florida has the lowest flu vaccination rate in U.S., with modest uptick this year," by Naples Daily News' Liz Freeman: "Florida has the lowest flu immunization rate among states and recent progress isn't keeping pace with a national uptick in the vaccination rate, according to an independent analysis of federal data. Health officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is convincing more people to get the flu shot and they are driving home that message but the state is still lagging." — "Study: Recovery at least a year away for tourism businesses," by News Service of Florida's Jim Turner — "Marco Rubio says COVID-19 'double standard' erodes media credibility," by Florida Politics A.G. Gancarski — "COVID-19 hospitalizations have surged by 24% in Lee and Collier in past two weeks," by Fort Myers News-Press' Dan DeLuca — "Orange's tourist taxes in October worst since 9/11 attacks," by Orlando Sentinel's Stephen Hudak and Leslie Postal — "FGCU to bill students, employees for not using COVID test kits," by Fort Myers News-Press' Pamela McCabe | | | | TRACK THE TRANSITION & NEW ADMINISTRATION HEADING INTO 2021: President-elect Biden is pushing full steam ahead on putting together his Cabinet and White House staff. These appointments and staffing decisions send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. What do these signals foretell? Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, it tracks the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | |
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | WHEN YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN — "Ivanka & Jared buy $30M lot on high-security Miami island," by New York Post's Sara Nathan and Emily Smith: "Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have splashed out on a $30 million-plus dollar lot of land on Miami's uber-swanky and high-security Indian Creek Island — known as the 'Billionaire's Bunker' — Page Six can exclusively reveal. Ahead of President Trump's exit from the White House, the couple is busy making plans for life after D.C. and have viewed numerous properties and lots of land in the Miami and Palm Beach area. The private, guarded and gated Indian Creek Island is also one of the most secure places in Florida, as it boasts a 13-man police force for just 29 residences." REBRANDING — "Trump admin to rename two bases for Space Force over military objections," by Defense One's Marcus Weisgerber: "The U.S. Air Force plans to change the names of two Florida military bases heavily involved in Space Force operations during a Wednesday ceremony with a guest list including Vice President Mike Pence, Defense One has learned. The renaming ceremony has been ordered by top Trump administration officials as part of the Space Force's first birthday. But U.S. officials familiar with the matter said the changes violate a gentleman's agreement with congressional staffers who asked the military not to rename any bases until after President Donald Trump signs the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to openly discuss the renaming, which has not been publicly announced. Patrick Air Force Base will be renamed Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will be renamed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the officials said." REPREIVE — "DHS issues nine-month extension of TPS benefits for Haitians and Central Americans," by Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles: "Temporary Protected Status benefits, which were set to expire early next month for an estimated 400,000 immigrants from Haiti, Nepal and Central America, will be extended by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for nine months. The extension means that the TPS beneficiaries, including nationals of Sudan as well as Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, can continue to legally live and work in the United States for the next nine months and — for now — avoid being placed in deportation proceedings, which could have begun as early as March after their documents expired on Jan. 4, 2021." | | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | THE TALLAHASSEE TWO-STEP — "Florida voters banned ex-lawmakers from lobbying for 6 years, but revolving door still swings," by Orlando Sentinel's Gray Rohrer: "In the month since the election, four former Florida lawmakers have taken jobs as lobbyists, and one state agency director left her position in October to lead a trade group for an industry she used to regulate. This kind of revolving door between government and lobbying firms was supposed to end after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 banning elected officials and agency heads from lobbying for six years after leaving their posts." — " Corey Simon, former FSU football player, named head of Volunteer Florida," by Tallahassee Democrat | | | | A message from The Great Courses Plus:   | | |
| | TRAIL MIX | | WELCOME HOME? — "Mixed reception in Florida to talk of Trump inaugural rally," by Palm Beach Post's Antonio Fins, Zac Anderson and Wendy Rhodes: "Reports that President Trump is mulling a rival rally in Florida to split screen Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20 drew mixed feelings from the Trump faithful and a rebuke from Democrats on Monday. On Sunday, media reports again cited sources who said the president is considering a rally, presumably in his adopted home state, to announce he intends a comeback presidential campaign in 2024. That event would take place on Jan. 20, at least in part to draw attention away from the swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Joe Biden." GETTING CROWDED — "Cynthia Chestnut enters race to lead Florida Democratic Party," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Former state Rep. Cynthia Chestnut said she is mounting a campaign to lead the Florida Democratic Party, joining a growing field. Chestnut was a member of the Florida House from 1990 to 2000 and is a former Alachua County commissioner. She hails from a prominent Gainesville legal and political family. Chestnut, who chairs the Alachua County Democratic Party, said she was the first African American woman to be elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Alachua, Marion and Putnam counties. She also was the first Black woman to serve on the Alachua County commission. "We need to talk to our base year-round," she said in an interview Monday. 'IT'S HISTORIC' — "Broward Democrats elect Black party chairman for first time," by Sun Sentinel's Anthony Man: "Broward Democrats have, for the first time, elected a Black party chairman. Rick Hoye, 41, of Sunrise, has momentous tasks ahead of him: reaching out to Black and Hispanic voters whose support was lacking in the 2020 elections, getting some cash into the party's bank account, and helping build a campaign infrastructure to help mobilize voters in the 2022 elections for governor and U.S. Senate." | | | | JOIN WEDNESDAY - BATTLING INFORMATION CHAOS IN A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS: The extraordinary pace which scientists, doctors, epidemiologists, and hospital staff are working to fully understand the coronavirus can sometimes lead to the wrong information getting published and more accurate information being buried. Join POLITICO for a virtual deep-dive conversation on strategies for improving the flow of accurate and timely findings during a public health crisis. Tune in and hear the executive conversation between POLITICO CEO Patrick Steel and Surescripts CEO Tom Skelton. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | MOVING SOUTH? — "Goldman plots Florida base for asset management in a blow to New York," by Bloomberg's Sridhar Natarajan: "Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is weighing plans for a new Florida hub to house one of its key divisions, in another potential blow to New York's stature as the de facto home of the U.S. financial industry. Executives have been scouting office locations in South Florida, speaking with local officials and exploring tax advantages as they consider creating a base there for its asset management arm, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The bank's success in operating remotely during the pandemic has persuaded members of the leadership team that they can move more roles out of the New York area to save money." 'THERE'S REASONS WHY' — "Inside Operation Gideon, a coup gone very wrong," by Rolling Stone's Kevin T. Dugan : "The two Americans left late on May 2nd, 2020, well after dark had fallen on an arid beach near Castilletes, in northern Colombia. The men, both ex-Special Forces, had been waiting to pile into a flat-bottomed boat stocked with guns and ammunition and about 50 Venezuelan revolutionaries for a journey into the heart of enemy territory. The mission was Operation Gideon, and its objective was to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro. But the weather wasn't cooperating, and the 5 p.m. launch had been delayed by an hour, then another. One pilot boat carrying 11 had already shipped out, but the Americans waited for the all-clear from the operation's leader, Jordan Goudreau, the intense ex-Green Beret and head of the private-security company Silvercorp USA. Goudreau was some 1,100 miles northwest in Florida — the boat he intended to get him to Venezuela had broken down — poring over weather forecasts and giving orders via satellite phone." A DIFFERENT APPROACH — "Orlando oks plan to send counselors instead of cops to some calls," by Orlando Sentinel's Ryan Gillespie: "Orlando city commissioners on Monday signed off on a one-year plan to send mental health counselors to certain nonviolent police calls and extended its test of sidewalk scooters through July. Under the plan, two teams of Aspire Health Partners' mental health clinicians and case managers would respond to 911 calls about nonviolent suicidal people or people experiencing mental illness who need assistance." | | MEDIA MATTERS | | COMING ON BOARD — "Miami Herald names Monica Richardson first Black executive editor in paper's history," by Miami Herald's David Smiley: "The Miami Herald's parent company named a new executive editor on Monday to lead its newsrooms in Florida — a 30-year veteran of the news business, with expertise in Metro reporting and a specialization in digital news. Monica R. Richardson, currently the senior managing editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will join the Miami Herald Jan. 1 as its top editor, according to McClatchy. Richardson will be the first Black executive editor in the Herald's 117-year history." | | | | A message from The Great Courses Plus: Are you an inquisitively curious individual that loves learning? Join a community of life-long learners, and learn more about any topic with The Great Courses Plus. Stream thousands of videos by some of this world's brightest minds. From the Art of Investing to the Theory of Everything, quench your thirst for knowledge with courses designed for the endlessly curious cat. With The Great Courses Plus, you'll enjoy being able to learn anytime, anywhere at your own pace. Now there's nothing keeping you from starting your educational journey. Learn now with The Great Courses Plus! | | |
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Winter Park woman accused of stabbing husband: I was manipulated by bogus child abuse probe," by Orlando Sentinel's Monivette Cordeiro: "A lawyer for a Winter Park woman accused of stabbing her husband to death in 2019 claims in a recent court filing that a 'patently false' child abuse investigation was used to 'manipulate' the accused and coerce incriminating statements from her. In a motion filed last week, Assistant Public Defender Catherine Conlon wrote that Florida Department of Children and Families investigator Tarolyn Tucker pursued a bogus abuse probe so she could talk to Danielle Redlick on the behalf of Winter Park police." BIRTHDAYS: Douglas Lyons, media consultant, journalist and former press secretary for Rep. Lois Frankel
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