 SpaceX Rescues Stranded Astronauts
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth on March 18, splashing down off the Florida coast.
Wilmore and Williams, who had been stuck at the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months after problems arose with Boeing’s new capsule Starliner, returned in a SpaceX capsule along with two other astronauts.
After their return, Wilmore retired from NASA in August, where he had served for 25 years, having flown in four different spacecraft and accumulated 464 days in space.
During an interview with People in September, Williams said she would retire by year’s end and may pursue a new career as a veterinarian.
DeSantis Calls for End to Property Taxes
On March 31, Gov. Ron DeSantis first announced his intention to greatly reduce or eliminate property taxes for homesteads in Florida, stating that “property taxes effectively require homeowners to pay rent to the government.”
While lawmakers debated legislation on sales tax, the governor proposed a plan to give $1,000 rebate checks to each homestead as a discount on property taxes. As the legislative session extended, the governor’s plan was cut from state budget negotiations.
On June 30, DeSantis signed into law a long-awaited state budget hours before it would take effect. The governor vetoed $567 million from the budget, including $1 million for a study on the consequences of eliminating property taxes.
“We don’t need to give a bureaucracy money to study this. We know what needs to be done, so let’s just do it, and we will do it,” DeSantis said.
With the final budget proposal of his term, DeSantis once again pushed for a plan to eliminate property taxes on primary residences in Florida through a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot.
FSU Mass Shooting
On April 17, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a Florida State University (FSU) student, opened fire on the Tallahassee campus, killing two and injuring six.
In the weeks following the shooting, more was learned about the victims, Floridians mourned, students demanded gun control legislation, and the university resumed operations with enhanced support and security for students.
Ikner appeared at a court hearing in November after a judge had delayed his trial until later in 2026. Ikner faces the death penalty if convicted.
Florida Addresses Illegal Immigration
On May 1, Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a press conference with ICE officials at the ICE-ERO Center in Miramar to announce the results of the Operation Tidal Wave immigration initiative.
The multi-agency surge resulted in more than 1,100 arrests in a week—the highest number in Florida’s history. The effort, described as the first of its kind, involved 287(g) officers and more than 250 local and state law enforcement officials, as well as the National Guard, to assist federal partners, including ICE.
A few weeks later, on June 18, Attorney General James Uthmeier stated that Florida would build a massive immigrant detention center in the Everglades, calling it Alligator Alcatraz.
On July 1, as President Trump toured the new Florida Everglades migrant detention center a few days before detainees arrived, protesters gathered at the facility’s entrance, decrying its potential environmental harm.
Deportation Depot in North Central Florida followed, as did lawsuits, protests, and discussions of a third detention center in Northwest Florida, dubbed Panhandle Pokey.
Florida’s Record Executions
Florida executed Frank Athen Walls, 58, on Dec. 18 at Florida State Prison in Raiford. Walls was the 19th person executed in the state in 2025.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has overseen more executions in a single year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
Florida is among 11 states across the U.S. where executions have been carried out since the start of 2025. Alabama, Texas, and South Carolina have each carried out five executions.
DeSantis’ death warrants have substantially contributed to this being the busiest year for the death penalty in this country in more than a decade.
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