Florida Eyes AI for Food Stamps

Florida’s state budget includes a $4 million provision to hire an artificial intelligence vendor to help determine who qualifies for food assistance.

The Department of Children and Families would use machine learning to analyze SNAP eligibility determinations and eliminate the state’s financial liability for errors. Florida’s payment error rate hit 15.13% in 2024—one of the highest in the country.

About 2.5 million Floridians currently receive SNAP benefits, and the budget requires the state to complete vendor procurement by Sept. 1.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office declined to say whether he would sign or veto the provision, responding only, “Stay tuned.”

Miami Yacht Owner Faces Trafficking Charges

New bodycam footage released by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office shows police confronting a Miami Beach charter boat operator accused of sex trafficking teenagers.

Kutay Satiroglu, 45, was arrested in November 2025 on charges of human trafficking, lewd and lascivious battery on a child, and contributing to the delinquency of a child. He remains held without bond and faces an immigration hold.

Arrest records allege Satiroglu coerced underage girls into sex acts with associates at drug-fueled yacht parties, charging $200 to $800 per encounter. A second alleged victim has since come forward with similar allegations.

The nearly eight-minute bodycam recording is heavily redacted, with audio removed during key portions of the officers’ exchange with Satiroglu.

Florida’s First Olive Ridley Nest Found

Researchers at Loggerhead Marinelife Center have documented the first known olive ridley sea turtle nest in Florida, after the rare species came ashore on Jupiter Beach on May 18.

The turtle, named Tini, nested in an area more commonly used by loggerhead, leatherback, and green sea turtles. Olive ridleys typically nest along beaches in Brazil, Trinidad, Suriname, and Gabon, according to Loggerhead Marinelife Center.

Researchers say the appearance outside its normal range could be linked to warming ocean temperatures, population growth, or fishing-related entanglement that may have transported Tini into Florida waters.

The Juno Beach nonprofit has reported the nesting event to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and plans to collect genetic samples once the nest hatches.

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➤ Orange County: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his 10th death warrant of 2026. Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, was convicted of stabbing his wife to death in Orange County in 1992. Spencer is scheduled for execution on June 25. (More)

➤ Port Orange: An HOA president faces child abuse charges after deputies say he pushed a 12-year-old off his bicycle, yelled “Do you know who I am?” and confiscated the bike. (More)

➤ Jacksonville: Two men are behind bars after a string of armed robberies targeting food trucks ended with one suspect shooting at a food truck owner who spotted them fleeing. (More)

➤ Tampa Bay: Local tax collectors are calling out the state’s “Orion” DMV system for daily outages over the previous weeks that have prevented staff from issuing driver’s licenses for hours at a time. (More)

➤ Sanibel: Southwest Florida tourism is bouncing back, with Lee County businesses reporting their strongest first quarter since Hurricane Ian. One Sanibel restaurant says summer looks “very strong.” (More)

➤ Miami: A 20-year-old man was arrested for running a three-card monte street scheme that swindled thousands of dollars—and a Rolex—from multiple victims using sleight-of-hand and accomplices. (More)

➤ Miami Gardens: A driver in a stolen Cadillac SUV led the Florida Highway Patrol on a chase that ended with a PIT maneuver and foot chase before the suspect was taken into custody. (See Video)

➤ Orange County: Seven public schools held their final classes ever as the district consolidates 2,000 students due to declining enrollment and a $40 million-plus budget shortfall. “I’m just not ready for it to end,” one second grader said. (More)

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➤ Four Florida schools open NCAA baseball tournament regional play today: Florida, Florida State, UCF, and Miami. (See Bracket)

➤ FSU softball shortstop Isa Torres was named D1Softball’s National Player of the Year after hitting .530 with 16 home runs and 78 runs scored this season. She’s the first Seminole to win the award, and her batting average ranks among the top 15 in NCAA history. (More)

➤ The Jaguars’ two-way superstar, Travis Hunter, spent his first OTA of the offseason working exclusively with the offense as a receiver, getting no reps as a cornerback. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: NBA | MLB | Soccer | NCAASB | WNBA | Golf

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➤ Florida’s AI lobby has quietly grown. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI have all hired Tallahassee firms to represent them as state lawmakers tackle procurement rules, datacenter growth, and education policy. (More)

➤ Miramar Cove broke ground this week in Broward County. It’s a 125-acre master-planned waterfront development set to deliver 2,874 residences, 400,000 square feet of retail and office space, a hotel, and a 5.5-acre man-made waterfront basin. (More)

➤ Northeast Florida seniors are increasingly priced out of housing as Duval County rents have climbed 57% since 2014. More than half of older renters now spend 30% or more of their income on rent, according to nonprofits. (More)

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➤ Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress will close July 6 for its biggest makeover since the early ’90s, with a 2027 reopening featuring new acts spanning the 1969 moon landing to a far-future finale. (More)

➤ A $40 million compound on Plantation Key has hit the market at what could become the most expensive residential sale in Keys history, spanning 7 acres with an 8,200-square-foot main house and private harbor. (See Photos)

➤ A rhesus macaque was caught on video roaming a field near Wekiva Springs State Park. The invasive species has thrived in Florida since being released in the 1930s at Silver Springs, roughly 70 miles away. (See Video)

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