News Service of Florida

Green Thumb Industries, which wants to sell cannabis next to convenience stores in Florida, has filed an appeal after an administrative law judge ruled against it, siding with state health regulators.

Here are counties with the most abortions, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration. The numbers reflect county residents who had abortions, not necessarily the counties where abortions took place.

Look for decisions regarding Medicaid eligibility, gender-affirming care, lab-grown meat and more to make headlines in the months ahead.

The most COVID deaths, 521, were reported in Miami-Dade, followed by 449 in Palm Beach and 365 in Pinellas.

The ruling comes after Floridians Protecting Freedom, a political committee that led unsuccessful efforts to pass the abortion ballot measure, filed a notice that it was dropping its challenge against the state.

Disability Rights Florida claims in its lawsuit that the data would help in monitoring psychiatric hospitals. The organization says it did not receive the information after making a public records request.

The lawsuit centers on part of Florida’s Medicaid system that contracts with managed-care plans to provide what are known as home- and community-based services for people who need long-term care.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which makes rate filings for the industry, submitted a proposal in August that called for an overall 1 percent rate decrease.

Opponents filed the lawsuits last month in various parts of the state and sought to invalidate the failed abortion-rights ballot measure.

A federal appeals court will hear arguments Jan. 15 in a legal battle about restrictions on treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for people diagnosed with gender dysphoria.