It continues to push toward the northern Leeward Islands, where tropical storm watches are now in effect as of the 8 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. Intensification is expected as Erin moves toward warmer ocean temperatures over the next several days.

Tropical Storm Erin is strengthening and could become a Category 4 storm with 130-mph winds within three days.

DeSantis announced plans to convert a shuttered North Florida prison into an immigration detention center, replacing a costlier proposed site.

The new immigration detention center will be located at the Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, Florida. The governor said the facility, which is near Lake City Airport, will not house people indefinitely.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the opening of a new immigration detention facility in north Florida, dubbed “Deportation Depot”.

For the first time in a decade, Floridians will be legally allowed to hunt black bears in the state. The move was unanimously approved by the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission this month, but not without opposition from some conservation and animal rights groups.

A wildlife conservation group has filed a complaint that the state violated state law in how it developed rules for an annual black bear hunt.

In 2018, nine people were arrested in Florida on animal cruelty charges in cases where they baited bears and used dogs during bear hunts.