Jim Saunders - News Service of Florida

Attorneys for the state say U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams should turn down Norwegian Cruise Line’s request for a preliminary injunction against the vaccine-passport ban.

The panel reversed an earlier decision and is a win for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said the CDC overstepped its authority by restricting the cruise industry.

A smoker's estate went to the high court after the 5th District Court of Appeal overturned a decision by an Orange County jury to award $16 million, calling the amount “excessive.”

The request comes after U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday refused to put on hold his June 18 ruling that the CDC had overstepped its legal authority in placing restrictions on the cruise industry.

Department of Justice attorneys filed a notice of taking the case to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction against CDC cruise orders.

The high court will take up a legal battle about how much money Florida’s Medicaid program should be able to recoup from a legal settlement stemming from an accident that left a girl in a vegetative state.

Although the state has banned local governments from requiring people to wear masks, cases involving such mandates in Alachua and Palm Beach counties are still going through the courts.

The decision bolstered the case brought by three Sarasota County private hospitals that contend they should be reimbursed for indigent care, at least in part because of a 2003 state law.

The vaccination rates in 23 of the state’s 67 counties - almost all rural and largely spread across North Florida - were below 40%. The rates in nine counties were below 30%.

After an impasse in mediation, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday will hold a hearing in Tampa on Florida’s request for a preliminary injunction against restrictions imposed by the CDC.