The odds of significant cold, coastal, and marine impacts across South Florida this weekend and beyond continues to increase. An Extreme Cold Watch is in effect for the Lake Okeechobee region and coastal Palm beach County and a Freeze Watch is in effect for inland Collier, Miami Dade and Broward counties. Wind chills could drop into the 20s across all of South Florida early Sunday morning. Very breezy conditions are expected on Saturday afternoon through early Sunday morning as the strong cold front pushes through the area. Sustained winds 15-25 mph could gust up to 40 mph, with highest winds likely along the immediate coastlines. A Gale Watch is in effect for local waters beginning on Saturday afternoon and evening. Sustained winds of 30-40 knots with higher gusts is possible across the Atlantic and Gulf waters through Sunday afternoon. Wave heights could peak as high as 12 feet across the Gulf and Atlantic waters during the day on Sunday as well.

Flight cancellations at Southwest Florida International Airport continued Monday with 55 just after 3 p.m. The cancellations are mostly due to the massive snow and ice-filled winter storm hitting the country from Texas to Maine. Airlines warned the storm could cause widespread cancellations and delays at some of the nation’s busiest airports.

This year there are roughly 40 proposals before the Florida Legislature seeking to create exemptions to public records. Historically, the state has been considered a national leader in making its system of government accessible to its citizens — but no more. Open government advocates are dismayed by the many new attempts at whittling down the state’s transparency.

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has arrived in the United States to face criminal charges. He was captured in an audacious military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. Maduro landed Saturday evening at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas. The couple will face prosecution in connection with a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The Robin Dawn Academy Holiday Showcase 2025 takes place at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall on Monday, December 15. Academy dancers ages 3–18 will light up the stage with high-energy routines in every style — ballet, jazz, hip hop, and more — set to favorite holiday hits.

A new program that put cameras on school buses will catch and fine drivers who pass school buses that have their red stop lights on and arm out.

Approximately 2,277,540 pounds of a ready-to-eat Korean barbecue pork jerky product shipped to Costco and Sam's Club sites nationwide that may be contaminated with pieces of metal is being recalled, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.The affected jerky product made by LSI, Inc., an Alpena, S.D. establishment, has a one-year shelf-life with “best by” dates ranging October 23, 2025, through September 23, 2026, printed on the side of the packaging.

The race to become the governor of Florida is beginning to bubble, with U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds leading what is becoming a crowded field of hopefuls, all jockeying to assume the mantle.It’s way too early to divine who will win the open governor’s seat next November, but Donalds, who is Black and represents Florida’s 19th Congressional district, is bumping up against the reality that in its 180-year history, Florida has never elected a Black governor, man or woman, Democrat or Republican.

Conservation photographer Ian Wilson-Navarro was born in Miami but has lived his entire life in Key Largo. He got his first camera as a teenager, and first visited the Dry Tortugas around that same time camping and fishing with his father. In 2021, he and a friend were chosen for a National Parks Arts Foundation artist residency in the Dry Tortugas on Loggerhead Key. His proposal for the residency pitched the idea of capturing images to create a book, and that book is now out. "Dry Tortugas: Stronghold of Nature" was published last month by University Press of Florida. It features about 200 of his photographs along with essays by people with intimate knowledge of the park who explore its history, culture, and environment.