Daily News Update; Via Rich Jones of WOKV

[TheCat]

The hot weather is here to stay for awhile.  We're under a heat advisory from 12-8pm today with temps in the mid to upper 90's again.  We have a slight chance of an afternoon thunderstorm.  The heat is on all week, including Independence Day Wednesday.

Today's interview lineup:

At 6:53 we heard Jamie Dupree in St. Augustine ahead of today's golf event at Palencia, and why Florida is likely to be one of several states to opt out of Obamacare.
http://www.wokv.com/Player/101437251/

At 7:23 we heard Fox's Jared Halpern explain why the Obamacare ruling has brought new momentum behind several Congressional races.   
http://www.wokv.com/Player/101437301/

At 7:53 we heard my conversation with Senator Marco Rubio ahead of his book signing in Orange Park tonight. 
http://www.wokv.com/Player/101437441

At 8:23 we heard Alison Burns in our Washington Bureau on the widespread damage caused by weekend storms. 
http://www.wokv.com/Player/101437481

Our Top Local Story: 

No thank you.  Governor Scott says Florida will pass on any optional part of Obamacare.  Scott says the law will be devastating for taxpayers and patients.  While he hopes to see the rest of the law repealed if Mitt Romney wins the Presidential election, Scott says Florida will follow what's required under the law.

With the calendar flipping to July, that means scores of new laws are now in effect. Those include the crackdown on no-fault auto insurance fraud that Governor Scott fought vigorously for.  They also include a pair of laws that face constitutional challenges -- one that bans state and local governments from hiring companies that do business in Cuba and Syria, and one that permits inspirational messages, including prayers, in public schools.

A major disaster.  Governor Scott is requesting Florida receive a major disaster declaration because of the damage done by Tropical storm Debby last week.   In Clay County, the clean-up is far from over.  Fire Chief Lorin Mock tells us they've sent early damage estimates of four-million dollars.

A robbery gone wrong -- a man trying to rob two other men over the weekend is shot and killed by his would-be victims.  Police say the three got into a gun battle, and one of the targets flagged down an off-duty officer to tell him that he believed he shot the robber dead.  Police say that man had a concealed-carry permit and turned his gun over to police.
A prison escapee's dash for freedom ends in St. Augustine.  A pair of tipsters helped police recapture Dean Adams at the Meridia Motel in St. Augustine, hours after the convicted burglar escaped from a work detail.

We're getting a break at the pump as we kick off the holiday week.  AAA says the statewide average for a gallon of unleaded is $3.18, down nearly ten cents over last week.  It may be short-lived, as AAA predicts a slight uptick because of overseas political issues.  Thanks to Beth for posting a picture on our Facebook page--$2.98 at one station on Mayport Road.

Our Top National Story: 

Sweltering heat wave and severe weather cleanup across the mid-Atlantic.  More storms are heading into the same area that took a beating Friday night.  Nearly 2.7 million people are still without power across the region.  And the storms are being blamed for 17 deaths, mostly from trees falling on cars and homes.
Across Colorado, the wildfire fight continues.  Some 1,500 firefighters are still attacking the wildfire near Colorado Springs. Fires are burning in several other Western states.

A Mississippi abortion law is being temporarily blocked by a federal judge until a July 11th hearing. The law requires that only OB-GYN doctors with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital perform abortions at the clinic. That would effectively force it to shut down.

A three year-old boy is among ten people shot in a weekend of violence in Chicago.  The boy was walking with his parents Saturday night when a guy walked up to the family and started firing.  In a separate attack, a man was shot in the head and died when someone fired at a group of people at a park.

What's Happening tomorrow:

http://www.wokv.com/videos/online/advertising/morning-news-video-blog/ldQ/

[TheCat]

The state of florida is defining foreign policy...?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57460357/judge-blocks-fla-cuba-syria-business-ties-law/

MIAMI â€" A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Florida from enforcing a new state law barring companies from bidding on state and local government contracts if they or any affiliates also do business in Cuba or Syria.

U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore issued the temporary injunction after hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by a Florida-based subsidiary of a Brazilian conglomerate, which contended that the law is unconstitutional. The lawsuit by Odebrecht Construction Inc. claims the law runs afoul of the federal government's sole powers to direct U.S. foreign policy.

Moore noted that at least three similar efforts have been made targeting Cuba in the past. He said it was clear that Odebrecht was likely to prevail, meaning the law would be permanently barred.

"If it's foreign affairs, it's foreign affairs," Moore said in ruling from the bench. "It isn't as if there isn't some precedent there."

The law, which takes effect July 1, applies to state and local projects worth $1 million or more. Bidders would have to certify that neither they nor any affiliate has economic links to Cuba or Syria â€" though there's little doubt the main issue for Cuban-Americans in South Florida would be any business with the communist island.

Odebrecht, based in Coral Gables, is part of Brazil's Odebrecht S.A., which has a separate subsidiary working to expand Cuba's port of Mariel. Odebrecht has engineering, construction and related activities around the world, including work on such major Florida projects as Miami's American Airlines Arena, the Nassau Sound Bridge in Jacksonville and the new Florida International University football stadium.

Odebrecht attorney James E. Moye contended that the law, which applies to projects worth $1 million or more, would prevent it from bidding on billions of dollars in government contracts. The company says it intends to bid on $3.3 billion in Florida transportation projects this year alone.

"They are ready to bid. They want to bid. They are going to suffer irreparable harm," Moye said.

Violators could suffer stiff fines, up to the amount bid on a project.

Attorneys for the state Transportation Department, the agency named in the lawsuit, argued the law is a valid one made by Florida officials on how government money should be spent. They contended it was not an improper reach into federal foreign policy.

"It is the ability of the state of Florida to determine who it's going to contract with and not contract with," said Paul Martin, an attorney for the state agency.

The measure was pushed through the Republican-dominated Legislature this year by two Miami-Dade County lawmakers and signed into law by Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott. He held a signing ceremony in May before key Cuban-American political and business leaders at Miami's Freedom Tower.

Even then, its constitutionality was in doubt.

Scott issued a statement after signing the measure that Congress would have to pass â€" and the president sign â€" a law allowing states to impose their own sanctions on foreign governments. That triggered a political uproar in the Cuban-American exile community, forcing Scott to repeat that he supported the law and would defend it against court challenges.

The U.S. government has a broad array of economic sanction in place against Cuba's communist government. Cuba is among the State Department's listed state sponsors of terrorism, along with Syria, Iran and Sudan.

[TheCat]

Gov. Rick Scott opts florida out of parts of Affordable Care Act

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Scott-fights-on-against-health-care-law/-/475880/15381292/-/j1evls/-/index.html

[avonjax]

Rick Scott is a crook. The last paragraph of the TU article where he says " the answer to higher health care costs is more accountability for medical providers and incentives for people to stay healthy,"makes me want to puke. He WAS one of those providers.  In my lifetime, and I'm close to being a senior, I have never seen more hateful and malicious political partisanship. I have never disliked Republican politicians until the the last four years, now I think they are the most repulsive group in the history of the United States government. Romney, the biggest hypocrite running today, is trashing  Healthcare reform, yet he implemented a similar plan in Mass. I have lost ALL respect for Republican politicians. Democrats aren't perfect either but the Right wing is making them look more and more like saints.