As the U.S. Supreme Court deliberates the latest challenge to Roe v. Wade, new abortion laws are already in the works ahead of Florida's upcoming legislative session.

Encouraged by possible federal changes, conservatives are moving full speed ahead in the Statehouse with proposals like House Bill 167, which would require doctors to conduct a test and inform a pregnant person of a heartbeat.

The Florida Department of Corrections now bans people in prison from receiving traditional mail, such as greeting cards and handwritten letters, requiring that it be scanned and sent electronically, with few exceptions. The department says the change was made to reduce contraband from entering facilities, but Denise Rock, executive director of Florida Cares Charity Corp., sees it as choosing to punish the estimated 80,000 people in prison for an offense that affects less than 1% of the prison population.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Storm damage, pollution and other factors - some related to climate change - are reducing the oyster population. But settlement funds from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill are now available to restore oyster reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Experts estimate the Gulf lost between four and eight billion oysters to the massive oil spill and saw a loss of reproduction in the ensuing years.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Healthcare reform advocates are asking U.S. senators to pass the Build Back Better Act, saying it would provide a federal fix for the more than 400,000 uninsured Floridians in the Medicaid coverage gap. 

Build Back Better would expand the tax credits lower-income people use to pay for insurance plans bought on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Despite the raging pandemic, college students are flooding Florida classrooms and campuses this week as the fall semester begins. At the same time, allies of President Joe Biden contend in order to "Build Back Better," as his plan is dubbed, the first two years of community college should be free.

During a Thursday virtual news conference by the labor union United Faculty of Florida, Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., said the change would make drastic improvements in students' lives, who are often saddled with debt.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- As the DeSantis administration continues its attempt to block school districts from imposing public-health protections on students, Democrats are fighting back by promising to launch a GoFundMe campaign.

This week, Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to dock the salaries of district superintendents and county school board members who mandate mask-wearing in schools.