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“The power to propose the revision or amendment of any portion or portions of this constitution by initiative is reserved to the people … ”

Those words are in Article XI, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution, approved by voters in 1968.

Voters that year modernized the state’s governing document in so many ways taken for granted today, such as home rule powers of cities and counties or the requirement for an annual 60-day session of the Legislature.

Mike Stocker/Sun SentinelSteve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel Opinion Editor.

The power of citizens to change the Constitution has brought much good to this state that would never have happened otherwise: stronger ethics laws, universal pre-kindergarten, a higher minimum wage, voting rights for felons, legalized medical marijuana, cleaner air and water.

The Legislature refused to do those things so the people did it themselves. There is a word for that: Democracy.

But Gov. Ron DeSantis and many in the state Legislature are tired of do-it-yourself democracy. They just put what looks like the final nail in the coffin of the citizens’ initiative in Florida.

A new law, (HB 1205), will make it harder than ever to collect the signatures from Florida voters needed to get an initiative on the ballot.

The bill imposes new hurdles for collecting signatures, such as tighter time deadlines (from 30 days to 10 days) to return petition forms, and fines of up to $50,000 if any non-citizen is found gathering signatures.

Sponsoring groups can propose only one petition at a time. Voters can face felony charges for collecting more than 25 petitions other than their own and those of immediate family members.

Fines. Forms. Felonies.

Republicans defend the changes as necessary to prevent fraud in the petition-gathering process, but bill sponsors said that among hundreds of allegations of petition fraud in 2024, there were 18 arrests.

“I’ve noticed a pattern that we go through in the Legislature,” said Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, a leading opponent of the bill. “If the majority don’t like what they see in a prior election, we change the law. We raise the bar.”

Two ballot initiatives nearly passed in 2024, on abortion rights and recreational pot use. But even coming close got Tallahassee’s undivided attention.

“Those pesky amendments 3 and 4 just came too damn close to passing,” Polsky said.

Petition gathering is flawed, to be sure, but many mistakes are out of carelessness, not fraud, and laws already exist to punish willful violators.

The caricature of a suspicious-looking noncitizen from some faraway state clutching a clipboard is an exaggeration. Many petition circulators are volunteers, described by senators as grandmothers from Century Village, who care deeply about the causes they pursue.

Within hours of the bill clearing the Senate Friday, DeSantis signed it into law. It will undoubtedly face a federal court challenge — as it should.

Even in the dry prose of a Senate bill analysis, it says: “Once a state allows an initiative petition process, that process is protected by the First Amendment.”

More than anything else DeSantis has done, signing this bill puts the lie to his tired cliché about “the free state of Florida.”

If this law survives, future Florida ballot initiatives will be the exclusive province of wealthy special interests with teams of lawyers and compliance experts paid by deep-pocket political committees.

“We are effectively saying, unless you’re rich, don’t bother trying to change the Constitution,” said Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg. “That’s not democracy. That’s a paywall.”

The new law will pose grave threats to groups seeking to get initiatives on the 2026 ballot.

“It’s a calculated move by out-of-touch politicians trying to rewrite the rules to further keep the power in their hands, and away from everyday citizens,” said Mitch Emerson, chairman of Florida Decides Healthcare, a group trying to expand Medicaid to help low-income Floridians. “They’re attempting to silence Floridians because they’re afraid of answering to we, the people.”

The deck is already stacked against democracy. Even before the latest crackdown, Florida Decides Healthcare and every other Florida initiative campaign had to overcome immense hurdles.

They must gather more than 880,000 signatures. A petition must survive strict legal scrutiny. If it reaches the ballot, big-money forces will spend millions on deceptive TV ads to defeat it. It can’t pass unless 60% of voters say yes.

“Florida Decides Healthcare has fought tirelessly to protect the voice of the people, and we’re not going anywhere,” Emerson said. “No politician gets to decide which rights we’re allowed to keep. The people of Florida deserve better than this bad-faith attempt to silence our voices.”

The bill passed the Senate, 28-9, and the House, 81-30. Republicans voted yes and Democrats voted no.

The promise of power to the people is still in the Constitution, and those words will be there forever. But year after year, the power they represent slips away.

Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor of the Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on X @stevebousquet.

Three players from South Florida and two teams came away with state championships at the FHSAA tennis competition in Orlando.

American Heritage-Delray’s boys and the American Heritage (Plantation) girls teams each won 2A team titles. St. Andrew’s sophomore Rafa Bote won the boys 1A overall singles championship, Pine Crest senior Bridget Chalich won the 2A overall singles title and Stoneman Douglas senior Savita Bagirathan defended her 4A overall singles title.

American Heritage-Delray boys tennis team won its third consecutive Class 2A state championship with a 4-0 victory over Miami Gulliver Prep. Pictured from left to right are coach Brian Schleifer, Rodin Grinchak, Misha Liberzon, Geoff Kosseifi, Ajinkya Karnataki, Yanni Anagnostopoulos, Karl Ekstrand and Karl Volles. Photo courtesy Brian Schleifer/American Heritage-Delray Athletics

American Heritage won the girls 2A title with a 4-2 win over Barron Collier. It is the Patriots’ eighth state championship, and first since 2021.

For American Heritage-Delray, it was their 22nd state tennis championship (12 boys, 10 girls), and its third boys championship in a row.

“As a coach you want your team to play their best when it matters the most,” American Heritage-Delray coach Brian Schleifer said by phone. “We were able to play the best we’ve played all season during the tournament. I couldn’t be prouder of them.

“I was confident in my guys,” he added. “After a big regional final (5-0) win over Pine Crest, I felt we were getting ready to go on a big roll.”

The Stallions blitzed the competition, winning 17 of 18 games in four postseason matches, including the 4-0 win over Miami Gulliver Prep in the championship match. No. 1 singles player Ajinkya Karnataki, a junior, said he expected to win the state championship with his team.

“It was honestly really great to get the third win in a row,” Karnataki said. “Both me and my doubles partner (junior Yanni Anagnostopoulos) been part of the team for the past three years, so we’ve taken part in all the wins.

“This was definitely by far the best our team has played in terms of energy and teamwork,” Karnataki added. “I think everybody really brought out their A-game, it all really came together really well.”

Karnataki and Anagnostopoulos went on to fall in the overall doubles championship.

Plantation’s American Heritage won the girls Class 2A title with a marathon, 6-hour, 4-2 win over Barron Collier.

Patriots junior Angeline Lin capped a stunning comeback in her match against Barron Collier sophomore Nadia Parsa in No. 3 singles. After dropping the first set 6-4 and trailing 4-0 on the second, Lin started her dramatic comeback to deliver the winning point and the state title.

Lin forced a tiebreaker to win the second set 7-5 and closed out the match with a 13-11 win in the tiebreaker, in a match that lasted 2 1/2 hours.

“Winning the state championship was one of the most surreal moments of my life,” Lin said. “Even now, it still doesn’t feel real. All the work and sweat we put in finally paid off, and I’m beyond grateful to have done it with this team.”

Junior Emily Huang won at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles with freshman Ava Zikria.

“This championship means everything to us,” Huang said. “We had some really tough matches this season—there were moments we were down, exhausted, and honestly unsure if we’d pull through. I’m just really proud of how we came together and fought for each other every step of the way.”

American Heritage dropped the first set in three matches in the finals and fought back to win in four tiebreakers.

“The special part of this year was redemption from last year,” said Patriots coach Tobias Croke. “We lost to the eventual state champions at the regional final last year in a heartbreaker. We sat on that for a whole year. The girls definitely used that as fuel to the fire.”

Pine Crest senior Bridget Chalich won the Class 2A overall singles championship at the FHSAA tennis championships in Orlando. Photo courtesy of Pine Crest Athletics

Pine Crest senior Bridget Chalich won the individual singles title and then captured the overall singles title with a 6-2, 1-6, 11-9 victory over Barron Collier sophomore Chelsea Casapu. She became the fifth girl at her school to win a state title.

Chalich and freshman Sophia Ead topped American Heritage-Delray’s senior Kristina Despotuli and sophomore Norah Smucker in the doubles semifinal before falling in the doubles final.

Chalich played in her freshman year and returned to the squad this year after a two-year hiatus from high school tennis as she concentrated on junior tennis as well as Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) tournaments.

“I did think I had a good shot of winning but I was nervous going in knowing it was my last chance to win a state championship,” Chalich said. “I thought I played pretty well adapting to how my opponents played. In my final match, it was definitely the toughest but I thought I played really well in the first set and was consistent in the tiebreaker despite being nervous.”

In 2A individual qualifiers matches, Somerset Academy senior Quentin Gabler lost in the individual singles final after beating North Broward Prep sophomore Max Freedman, 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals.

Pine Crest sophomore Koray Abramson and freshman Jose Vasquez didn’t play doubles at state due to an injury.

St. Andrew’s sophomore Rafa Bote won the Class 1A overall singles championship at the FHSAA tennis championships at Sylvan Lake Park in Orlando. Photo courtesy of Cindy Newnam/St. Andrew’s Athletics

Bote downed FAU High senior Alexander Georgiev (FAU), 6-1, 6-2 for the Class 1A overall singles title. Bote also helped the five-time defending state champion Scots reach the finals where they fell to True North Miami, who won their first state championship.

St. Andrew’s, the five-time defending state champion, dropped a 4-2 heartbreaker to True North in the team final.

“During the tournament, I gave it everything I had,” said Bote, who finished the season 18-3. “There were moments I was proud of and a few I wish I could take back, but overall, I felt like I left it all on the court.

“As a team, even though we didn’t come out on top,” he continued, “I was proud of how we fought. We showed heart, stuck together, and pushed a stronger opponent harder than they expected. It’s tough not to win, but I think we walked away with our heads held high, knowing we earned respect and gained experience for the future.”

Grandview’s girls won their first district and regional championships and advanced to the state championship final where they also fell to three-time state champions True North Miami.

“It was remarkable year,” said Grandview Prep coach Bucky Adams. “It was pretty unimaginable. We beat St. Andrew’s twice, 7-0 in the district finals and 4-1 in the regional to make it to state for the first time.”

“We had to get by a tough Benjamin (4-2) in state semifinals,” Adams continued. “In the finals, most of the matches were pretty close. The girls all performed very well and they got better and better as the year progressed.”

In the Class 1A individual matches, eighth Lexie Bursa (Westminster Academy) needed a tiebreaker in opening round to defeat Calli Berrang (Orange Park) and eventually fell in the semifinals. Bursa and junior Lily Aguiar lost in the quarterfinals in doubles.

Benjamin sophomore Maria Navarro finished state runner-up falling in the overall singles competition to Divine Savior Academy senior and Boston University commit Lauren Kettlewell, 6-3, 7-5

Both the boys and girls tennis squads from St. Thomas Aquinas fell in the Class 3A state semifinals. The boys lost 4-1 to Chile High School with the only game coming at No. 1 singles with junior Conor Reeser winning his match 6-3, 6-2.

The two-time defending state champion girls were tripped up by Jensen Beach 4-2 as the Raiders No. 1 doubles team of senior Sophia Pacheco and sophomore Rowan Cicero won as did No. 5 singles player Anna Pitino.

“We fought ‘till the end and never gave up,” Raiders coach Carol Deopsomer. “I’m so  proud of  my players. They are all winners  for sure.”

In the Class 3A individual competition, Archbishop McCarthy junior Jessica McLean fell in the semifinals to Auburndale junior McKenna Battilla, 6-0, 4-6 and 10-3 in the tiebreaker.

Stoneman Douglas senior Savita Bagirathan, right, successfully defended her Class 4A overall singles championship at the FHSAA tennis championships in Orlando. She is pictured with her sister, Dhea. Photo courtesy of Stoneman Douglas Athletics

The Eagles’ Bagirathan successfully defended her Class 4A overall singles title as the Sacred Heart University commit defeated Wellington’s Raya Dittfurth 6-3, 6-2.

“Yes I definitely felt pressure,” Bagirathan said. “I really wanted it, but my (sophomore) sister Dhea helped calm we down a lot and just have fun with it.

“It was super special to play with my sister, especially since it was my last year playing (at Douglas),” said Savita, who teamed with her sister, but fell in the individual doubles semifinals. “I’m glad we got to play doubles together and that we could go to states together for my last year.”

Cypress Bay’s boys lost in the 4A semifinals to the eventual champion Lake Nona, while the Wellington’s girls team edged Spruce Creek 4-3 to advance to the semifinals, and Cypress Bay was blanked 5-0 by eventual champion Miami Palmetto in the quarters. Wellington would go on to lose 4-1 to Miami Palmetto in the semifinals.

In other 4A individual play, Olympic Heights senior Rafael Gonzalez lost in the quarterfinals. Gonzalez and junior Jimmy Wey reached the state doubles finals where they lost. Spanish River freshman Brianna Popescu lost in a tiebreaker to Kira Acevedo first round of individual singles.

DELRAY BEACH — American Heritage-Delray senior Emma Hrzich walked on the field Friday night knowing it would be the last home game of her high school lacrosse career.

The UPenn commit didn’t disappoint and left quite a memory, scoring a career-high six goals and adding three assists as the two-time defending state champion and the nation’s top-ranked Stallions (17-2) downed visiting St. Andrew’s 15-7 in the 1A regional final on Friday night.

Hrzich scored on her first five shots as American Heritage-Delray rallied from a 1-0 deficit and defeated the Scots (19-3) for the second time this season. St. Andrew’s is ranked No. 5 in the country by MaxPreps, with the Stallions No. 1.

“It was really sentimental that I could play like this in my last game and do it with my sisters (teammates),” Hrzich said. “It is bittersweet that I won’t be playing on this field again, but I am excited to go and win states a third time. That would be amazing.”

American Heritage also got three goals from junior Madison Vargas, two goals each from junior Jamie Woelfel and junior Lily Svirsky. Sophomore Emma Switter and senior Ava Thompson both had a goal and assist, while Svirsky also added two assists.

After St. Andrew’s sophomore Bella Virtue scored an early goal, the Stallions roared back to take a 3-1 first quarter lead as Vargas, Hrzich, and Svirsky tallied. Virtue, who scored 102 goals this season, struck the back of the net three times, while sophomore Lexington Zorumski and seventh grader Katerina Koutrakos each added two for the Scots.

Senior Emma Hrzich, right, drives past St. Andrew’s senior Lily Alise, as American Heritage-Delray topped visiting St. Andrew’s 15-7 for the Class 1A girls regional lacrosse championship on Friday night. Hrzich scored a career high 6 goals and three assists. (Gary Curreri/Contributor)

American Heritage-Delray quickly made it 5-1 on two goals by Hrzich to open the second quarter and St. Andrew’s could only come within three goals twice the rest of the game.

Stallions coach John McClain told his team after the game that they have a target on their back and have to elevate their game every time they play. They played the final seven minutes of the game a player down because of (four) yellow-card accumulation.

“We put in the time to scout them and understand them,” said McClain, whose team won its eighth regional title in nine seasons. “Saint Andrew’s has incredible speed and there are some great lacrosse players over there. They are well coached and worked some different motions tonight that they never did before. We knew they would bring it because this is the toughest region in the state.”

American Heritage-Delray junior goalie Ashley Egbert had nine saves.

American Heritage-Delray junior Hali Horvath, right, battles St. Andrew’s eighth grader Holly Sullivan for a loose ball in the Class 1A girls regional lacrosse championship on Friday night. American Heritage-Delray topped visiting St. Andrew’s 15-7 for the title. (Gary Curreri/Contributor)

“We had to manage the final quarter shorthanded and that was difficult, especially with a team like them,” McClain added. “This gives us a little more grit and they won’t be complacent for the next three or four days before we go to state in Naples. We were fortunate tonight and played well offensively and won some draws.”

“It was a helluva season to go 19-3,” said St. Andrew’s coach Matthew Bellando. “The seniors are my first four-year players, and it is going to be tough to see them leave. The way we battled adversity in some games when we were down and ended up winning them. I am super proud of every single player out here.”

“They are a great team and they are No. 1 in the country and there is a reason for it,” Bellando added. “They know how to win. They win the big games, but we had a lot better showing tonight than we did the last time we played them.”

MIAMI (AP) — Gunnar Hoglund won his major league debut by allowing one run over six innings to lead the Athletics over Miami 6-1 on Friday night and extend the Marlins’ losing streak to six.

A 25-year-old right-hander who pitched at the University of Mississippi, Hoglund (1-0) struck out seven, walked none and allowed six hits, including Dane Myers’ leadoff home run in the sixth.

Hoglund was selected by Toronto 19th overall in the 2021 amateur draft and was among the prospects acquired by the A’s in the March 2022 trade that sent third baseman Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays.

Hogland threw 81 pitches, including 34 four-seam fastballs that averaged 93.6 mph. He got six swings and misses on fastballs, three on changeups and two on sinkers.

JJ Bleday, who played for the Marlins as a rookie in 2022, hit his third home run. His solo shot in the third boosted the lead to 3-0 against Valente Bellozo (0-2), who allowed five runs, four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The Athletics (18-15) improved to a big league-best 12-6 on the road. They went ahead in the second on Nick Kurtz’s RBI single and Jacob Wilson’s bases-loaded walk.

Key moment

Hoglund struck out Max Mervis on a 1-2 changeup to strand runners at the corners in the fourth.

Key stat

Miami has been outscored 61-22 during its six-game skid.

Up next

RHP Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.31) starts for the Athletics on Saturday opposite Marlins RHP Max Meyer (2-3, 3.18).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

General Daily Insight for May 03, 2025

Tension could burst into the open without warning. As the emotional Moon powers into dramatic Leo at 7:29 am EDT, we’ll probably want to tell others how we feel. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing if our audience is open to it. Unfortunately, we may encounter resistance when Luna opposes entrenched Pluto. The Moon then conjoins aggressive Mars, so we could push back with plenty of power. Maintaining a clear understanding of what’s truly worth fighting for would be wise!

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Your idea of fun might not sit right with your peers today. While the flamboyant Moon in your 5th House of Pleasure clashes against domineering Pluto in your social sector, a group activity you propose could be shot down. Deciding what conclusion to draw from this may be the hard part. Perhaps it really is solely about the specific pursuit you recommended, and another suggestion would be welcome. If you get the vibe the problem is more personal, though, consider looking elsewhere for your people.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Deciding how much vulnerability to show the world might be a challenge. With the sensitive Moon passing through your intimate 4th house, you can make yourself aware of your feelings — potentially in a painful way. Baring it all with no filter may compound your problems. On the other hand, protecting yourself by holding everything inside can blow up in your face too. In conversation, make an effort to identify a specific grievance that the person you’re interacting with is realistically equipped to address.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Picking fights may come easily at the moment. As the impulsive Moon conjoins irritable Mars in your 3rd House of Communication, any insults on the tip of your tongue could roll straight off! Perhaps you’re motivated by your passionate attachment to a particular belief that the goal of making others agree with you is important enough to take an extreme or risky approach. Remember, even if you’re totally in the right, some consequences might still be impossible to escape. Is this worth the cost?

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Breaking away from a toxic entanglement could seem urgent. Once the intuitive Moon in your money zone takes notice of shadowy Pluto in your sharing sector, you may suddenly become aware that a relationship or collaboration you rely upon has actually been quietly sabotaging you over time. Upending the status quo immediately has the potential to make a big mess. Wait until you have a thoughtful strategy if you can — or accept chaos as the price if you just can’t.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Getting blamed for a messy conflict is possible today. While the visible Moon in your sign faces off against manipulative Pluto in your partnership zone, you’re probably not the only party engaged in the dispute — the other person could be goading you with subtle digs! As long as they manage to stay calm on the surface, they may get away with it. If you’re going to be seen as the villain no matter what you do, you might as well defend yourself.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

A current dispute about routine responsibilities could be deeper than it appears. While the melancholy Moon and seething Mars unite in your passive-aggressive 12th house, you may be resentful that a situation didn’t unfold the way you thought it should have. You’ll have to work carefully to determine whether anyone else involved had a realistic chance of knowing what was supposed to happen. If your ideal plan was totally trapped inside your head the whole time, that’s on you for not communicating it!

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Feeling jerked around by an organization you belong to is possible right now. While the melodramatic Moon and boisterous Mars conjoin in your 11th House of Community, you may come to believe that the loudest person in the room is always going to run the show, no matter what you say or do. Although you might feel powerless, you’re not necessarily without impact! Dragging your feet in frustration will be felt — and maybe that’s currently your safest method of asserting yourself.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Taking a bold risk could net you some extra attention at present. With the volatile Moon in your public 10th house looking to potent Pluto in your 4th House of Roots, your choice might not be as impulsive as it appears to onlookers. There’s likely a long and complex story behind it. That said, a fascinating narrative isn’t always enough to make things work out here and now. Do what you must, but pay close attention to whatever results you receive.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

A longing to break out of your usual routine could be nigh impossible to resist. As the spontaneous Moon meets courageous Mars in your 9th House of Adventure, you’re likely to grow irritable if you’re not getting enough stimulation. Admitting this honestly to the people around you may be unappealing — you might worry that they won’t take you seriously. You could be right about that, but at least let them judge you for the truth instead of picking a fight over something else.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

An unexpected expense could rattle your sense of control at the moment. As the needy Moon joins forces with pushy Mars in your 8th House of Shared Resources, the current provocation might remind you of any very valid reasons you have to resent the demands that someone else makes of you. If you secretly enjoy the power you get from having this person depend on you, though, you’ll have to let go of that before anything can change. Figure out what you really want.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Identifying the common denominator in any ongoing conflict around you may be crucial. When the chaotic Moon joins forces with warlike Mars in your relationship zone, you might seem to encounter person after person who has a bone to pick with you. This could mean it’s time to take a closer look at the signals you’re putting out. Any uncomfortable emotions you’re trying to keep to yourself are probably less hidden than you think. If possible, take time to deal with them honestly.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Your energy for mundane tasks could currently be at a high point. If the frenetic flow of activity starts to become overwhelming, though, you might look at whether you’re using busywork to avoid some deeper issue that you don’t want to deal with. While the comfort-craving Moon in your grounded 6th house contrasts with intense Pluto in your 12th House of the Subconscious, it’s not automatically wrong to pursue what feels easiest — as long as you’re aware that that’s what you’re doing.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army on Friday confirmed there will be a military parade on President Donald Trump’s birthday in June, as part of the celebration around the service’s 250th birthday.

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Plans for the parade, as first detailed by The Associated Press on Thursday, call for about 6,600 soldiers to march from Arlington, Virginia, to the National Mall along with 150 vehicles and 50 helicopters. Until recently, the Army’s birthday festival plans did not include a massive parade, which officials say will cost tens of millions of dollars.

But Trump has long wanted a military parade, and discussions with the Pentagon about having one in conjunction with the birthday festival began less than two months ago.

The Army’s 250th birthday happens to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14.

In a statement Friday, Army spokesman Steve Warren said the Army’s birthday celebration will include “a spectacular fireworks display, a parade, and a daylong festival on the National Mall.”

Two members of Congress said Friday their efforts to learn more about the death of a detainee at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Broward were stonewalled by staff at the facility.

Their questions about the medical care at the Broward Transitional Center were met with “hostility and evasiveness,” U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick told reporters outside the center after she and U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson spent an hour and 35 minutes inside.

The facility’s staff “refused to give us complete and clear answers,” Cherfilus-McCormick said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s efforts to round up and deport people who aren’t in the country legally, hasn’t provided much information about the death of Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian citizen.

ICE posted a “detainee death notification” press release on Tuesday. It said Blaise was in its custody when “pronounced deceased by medical professionals” at the Broward Transitional Center on April 25, at 8:35 p.m. “The cause of death is under investigation.”

That prompted the congressional visit. Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents most of the African American and Caribbean American communities in Broward and Palm Beach counties, is the only Haitian American member of Congress. Wilson, who represents South Broward and Miami-Dade counties, represents Miami’s Little Haiti community. Both are Democrats.

If conditions at the Broward facility and other ICE locations around the country persist, Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson said, there would be more cases like Blaise — ending in detainee deaths.

“Marie is just an example of what is going to continue to happen,” Wilson said. “This is something we’re going to continue to see. It’s going to get more crowded. It’s going to continue to have more deaths. It’s going to continue to have more children without their parents.”

“We must speak out. We must protest. We must let people know that this is wrong, that these people are human beings, that they are not to be caged like animals,” she added.

Cherfilus-McCormick said what she saw inside the facility was “heartbreaking.”

“This is not working. Marie Blaise wasn’t just a one-off,” Cherfilus-McCormick said. “This is not humane. Everything about it is very cruel and very, very unusual and peculiar.”

Cherfilus-McCormick said there are “well over 500 people” at the center, but she couldn’t get a precise count.

“I specifically asked them how many people are here today and they would not answer,” she said. “Instead, they wanted to give us a tour of empty bedrooms. They want us to take us into the chapel to show us how pretty the facility is. This is not about a facility being pretty. This is about how you are treating these women who are here and everybody else who’s here in this facility.”

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People have been detained at the facility for what she said are “little incidents and infractions,” including one person who was in the U.S. for more than 25 years — and whose daughter is in the military — who’s been at the transitional center waiting to be processed for five months.

The main focus of the visit, they said, was to try to find out about health care services at the facility in general, and find out as much as they could about Blaise’s death.

Cherfilus-McCormick said she was told by the medical coordinator that there is one “on-call” doctor for the facility. When the congresswomen began pressing for details, she said, their inquiries were shut down.

“We asked her several questions about what is her procedure, and she became very hostile, didn’t want to answer questions. So we asked a little bit more. Well, how many people, how many doctors do you have? She said one. When we started asking more about that doctor, she refused to answer that question.

“Then when we asked about how many health care professionals, she stopped answering questions. And you could see that she was physically upset and didn’t want to respond any longer,” Cherfilus-McCormick said.

The lawmakers said they spoke with four detainees with specific knowledge of what happened to Blaise. “They told us how she complained of chest pain regularly … for quite a few days,” Cherfilus-McCormick said. On the morning of her death she was given a prescription, but the pain continued.

“If you had persistent heart pain, chest pain, why was there no EKG? Why wasn’t she sent to the hospital?” she asked.

ICE said in its April 29 announcement that it “provided email notification of Blaise’s death” to the Haitian consulate in Miami.

Wilson said the members of Congress haven’t been able to find out much about Blaise or her family. She said her staff was able to track down Blaise’s 22-year-old son via phone in California but he “instantly became so upset” — possibly, she said, fearing the call was being traced or the government would try to find him “because he might have been undocumented” — that he didn’t provide much information.

ICE’s initial statement about the death provided some details about Blaise.

The agency said it didn’t know when or where Blaise entered the United States “without admission or parole.”

On Feb. 12, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped her at the airport in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, attempting to board a flight to Charlotte, N.C.

On Feb. 14, CBP transferred her to ICE custody in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On Feb. 21, ICE transferred her to Richwood Correctional Center in Oakdale, La.

On April 5, she was transferred to ICE’s Miami division, which put her at the Broward Transitional Center.

ICE said it notified the inspector general’s office for its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, about the death.

Wilson scoffed at the notion of those offices investigating what happened because, she said, so many of their staffers have been fired since Trump took office in January.

Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson said there should be some kind of external investigation into the death.

ICE didn’t immediately respond to questions Friday about Blaise or what Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson reported from their visit. Neither did the GEO Group, the national private prison company based in Boca Raton, which has the contract to operate the facility.

Wilson said GEO Group’s contract should be canceled.

The facility is on Powerline Road in Deerfield Beach. The nearest major landmark is the Monarch Hill landfill, more commonly known as Mount Trashmore.

U.S. Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, left, and Frederica Wilson speak after visiting the ICE Broward Transitional Center on Friday, May 2, 2025. The visit was prompted by the death of Marie Blaise, a detainee at the center. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

In the press release, ICE said it cares for detainees.

“ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay. All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health screening and 24-hour emergency care at each detention facility. At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergent care,” the statement said.

GEO Group uses similar language about “a safe, secure, and humane environment.”

Tessa Petit, a native of Haiti who is executive director of the Florida Immigration Coalition, said the Trump administration has “declared hunting season on immigrants” and is “failing to provide the minimum safety and basic needs to those in their care.”

Petit and Mary Estimé-Irvin, a city of North Miami council member, and chair of the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network, joined Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson outside the facility, but only the lawmakers and their staffers were allowed inside.

Estimé-Irvin said Blaise’s name “must not be forgotten. Her story must not be ignored. The death of Marie Ange Blaise raises serious troubling questions about the treatment of individuals in federal custody.”

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.

By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked a White House executive order targeting an elite law firm, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump’s campaign of retribution against the legal profession.

U.S. District Beryl Howell said the executive order against the firm of Perkins Coie amounted to “unconstitutional retaliation” as she ordered that it be immediately nullified and that the Trump administration halt any enforcement of it.

“No American President,” Howell wrote in her 102-page order, “has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies but, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’”

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The ruling was most definitive rejection to date of Trump’s spate of similarly worded executive orders against some of the country’s most elite law firms, part of a broader effort by the president to reshape American civil society by targeting perceived adversaries in hopes of extracting concessions from them and bending them to his will. Several of the firms singled out for sanction have either done legal work that Trump has opposed, or currently have or previously had associations with prosecutors who at one point investigated the president.

The edicts have ordered that the security clearances of attorneys at the targeted firms be suspended, that federal contracts be terminated and that their employees be barred from federal buildings. The punished law firms have called the executive orders an affront to the legal system at odds with the foundational principle that lawyers should be free to represent whomever they’d like.

In the case of Perkins Coie, the White House cited its representation of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the 2016 presidential race. Trump has also railed against one of the firm’s former lawyers, Marc Elias, who engaged the services of an opposition research firm that in turn hired a former British spy who produced files of research examining potential ties between Trump and Russia. Elias left the firm 2021.

In her opinion, Howell wrote that Perkins Coie was targeted because the firm “expressed support for employment policies the President does not like, represented clients the President does not like, represented clients seeking litigation results the President does not like, and represented clients challenging some of the President’s actions, which he also does not like.”

“That,” she wrote, “is unconstitutional retaliation and viewpoint discrimination, plain and simple.”

The decision was not surprising given that Howell had earlier temporarily blocked multiple provisions of the order and had expressed deep misgivings about the edict at a more recent hearing, when she grilled a Justice Department lawyer who was tasked with justifying it.

The other law firms that have challenged orders against them —WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey — have succeeded in at least temporarily blocking the orders. But other major firms have sought to avert orders by preemptively reaching settlements that require them, among other things, to dedicate tens of millions of dollars in free legal services in support of causes the Trump administration says it supports.

U.S. Olympic sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested in Broward County on Thursday, accused of hitting a woman in the face  resulting in a nose bleed, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Kerley, 29, was held in the Broward Main Jail as of Friday afternoon on one count of touch or strike/battery, a misdemeanor charge. He is listed as one of the competitors participating in the Grand Slam Track event at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar this weekend, the event’s website shows.

Just before 8 p.m. Thursday, deputies met at a hotel in Dania Beach with a woman who said her ex-boyfriend Kerley punched her, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel through a public records request. The Sun Sentinel is not naming the woman because of the nature of the alleged crime.

The woman is also a track runner and was scheduled to compete in the same track event scheduled from Friday through Sunday, according to the affidavit. She told deputies she had a meeting with her coach when she ran into Kerley and the two started arguing.

Fred Kerley is shown in a Broward Sheriff’s Office booking photo. (Broward Sheriff’s Office/Courtesy)

“Kerley became aggressive and continued to approach her, stating something to the effect of ‘I’m going to f— everyone up in here up,'” the affidavit said. The woman said Kerley then hit her one time in the face. The deputy noted in the affidavit that her injuries were consistent with what she told them.

Kerley’s attorney Richard L. Cooper said in a statement to the Sun Sentinel: “It is my understanding that Fred was attacked and, in the scuffle, a third party was injured. With time, we are confident that Mr. Kerley will be exonerated. We look forward to the truth coming out.”

Kerley was taken into custody rather than being issued a civil citation because both he and the woman were competing in the same track event, and “deputies feared that a chance of revictimization might occur,” the affidavit said.

He told the deputy that he had been in a relationship with the woman for about six months, and the two split in October. The deputy said in the affidavit Kerley did not answer the deputy’s questions after he was taken into custody.

In January, Kerley was arrested in Miami Beach after a confrontation with officers.

Body camera footage released by Miami Beach police shows Kerley arguing with a group of officers late on Jan. 2 before a physical confrontation erupted. Kerley was wrestled to the ground, where an officer stuck him several times and then used a Taser on the 29-year-old sprinter, police said.

He was arrested on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer without violence and disorderly conduct, the last of which was dropped, Miami-Dade County court records show. The case remains pending with the next hearing date scheduled for May 8.

Kerley won the silver medal for the 100 meters at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the bronze for the same event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He has also earned six medals at the World Athletics Championships.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. 

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS and JOHN O’CONNOR, Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, disgraced by a corruption scandal that landed him in prison yet heralded by some for clearing the state’s death row, has died. He was 91.

Kankakee County Coroner Robert Gessner, a family friend, said Ryan died Friday afternoon at his home in Kankakee, where he was receiving hospice care.

Ryan started out a small-town pharmacist but wound up running one of the country’s largest states. Along the way, the tough-on-crime Republican experienced a conversion on the death penalty and won international praise by halting executions as governor and, eventually, emptying death row.

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He served only one term as governor, from 1999 to 2003, that ended amid accusations he used government offices to reward friends, win elections and hide corruption that played a role in the fiery deaths of six children. Eventually, Ryan was convicted of corruption charges and sentenced to 6½ years in federal prison.

During his more than five years behind bars, Ryan worked as a carpenter and befriended fellow inmates, many of whom addressed him as “governor.” He was released in January 2013, weeks before his 79th birthday, looking thinner and more subdued.

He’d been defiant heading to prison. The night before he went in, Ryan insisted he was innocent and would prove it. But when Ryan asked President George W. Bush to grant him clemency in 2008, he said he accepted the verdict against him and felt “deep shame.”

“I apologize to the people of Illinois for my conduct,” Ryan said at the time.

Ryan was still serving his sentence when his wife, Lura Lynn, died in June 2011. He was briefly released to be at her deathbed but wasn’t allowed to attend her funeral. On the day he left prison and returned to the Kankakee home where he and his wife had raised their children, one of his grandchildren handed him an urn containing his wife’s ashes.

Born in Iowa and raised in Kankakee, Ryan married his high school sweetheart, followed his father in becoming a pharmacist and had six children. Those who knew Ryan described him as the ultimate family man and a neighbor’s neighbor, someone who let local kids use his basketball court or rushed to Dairy Queen to buy treats when they missed the ice cream truck.

“He’s even offered to deliver the papers,” newspaper delivery boy Ben Angelo said when Ryan was running for governor. “He was serious.”

In 1968, Ryan was appointed to fill an unexpired term on the county board, beginning a quick rise in politics. Eventually, he served as speaker of the Illinois House, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and, finally, governor.

A glad-handing politician from the old school, Ryan emphasized pragmatism over ideology. He worked with officials from both parties and struck deals on the golf course or during evenings of cigars and booze.

Ryan helped block the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1980s during his term as speaker of the Illinois House, triggering some of the most heated demonstrations ever seen at the Capitol.

“They wrote my name in blood on the floor in front of the House, in front of the governor’s office,” Ryan said. “They were trying, hectic times, frankly.”

His willingness to set aside party orthodoxy sometimes put him at odds with more conservative Republicans.

He led a failed effort in 1989 to get the General Assembly to restrict assault weapons. He backed gambling expansion. He became the first governor to visit Cuba since Fidel Castro took power. And in 2000, after signing off on the execution of one killer, he decided not to carry out any more. He imposed a moratorium on executions and began reviewing reforms to a judicial system that repeatedly sentenced innocent men to die.

Ultimately, Ryan decided no reforms would provide the certainty he wanted. In virtually his last act as governor, he emptied death row with pardons and commutations in 2003.

“Because the Illinois death penalty system is arbitrary and capricious — and therefore immoral — I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death,” Ryan said.

Ryan found himself mentioned as a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize at the same time federal prosecutors were closing in. Before year’s end, he would be charged with taking payoffs, gifts and vacations in return for steering government contracts and leases to cronies, as well as lying to investigators and cheating on his taxes.

Much of the illegal activity took place during Ryan’s two terms as Illinois secretary of state, including the 1994 deaths of six children. They burned to death after their minivan struck a part that had fallen off a truck whose driver got his license illegally from Ryan’s office.

Federal investigators found that Ryan had turned the secretary of state’s office into an arm of his political campaign, pressuring employees for contributions — some of which came through bribes from unqualified truck drivers for licenses. After the children’s deaths, Ryan also gutted the part of his office responsible for rooting out corruption.

Then as governor, he steered millions of dollars in state leases and contracts to political insiders who in turn provided gifts such as trips to a Jamaican resort and $145,000 loans to his brother’s struggling business, investigators found. He was convicted on all charges April 17, 2006.

The father of the six dead children criticized Ryan’s attitude at the time.

“There was no remorse in George Ryan after the verdict. That didn’t surprise me. That’s Ryan’s same attitude, a chip on the shoulder,” said the Rev. Scott Willis. “It makes it a little easier to feel elation. His attitude confirms the verdict was right.”

Anger at Ryan weakened Republicans for years and energized the gubernatorial campaign of a charismatic young Democrat who promised to clean up Springfield — Rod Blagojevich. Later, as federal investigators probed his own conduct, Blagojevich would call for Ryan to be granted clemency and released from prison.

Wills, a former Associated Press staffer, was the principal writer of this obituary.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to clear the way for Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.

The emergency appeal comes after a judge in Maryland restricted the team’s access under federal privacy laws.

Social Security holds personal records on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, bank details, salary information and medical and mental health records for disability recipients, according to court documents.

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The government says the DOGE team needs access to target waste in the federal government, and asked the justices to put the lower court order on hold as the lawsuit over the issue plays out.

Solicitor General John Sauer argued that the judge’s restrictions disrupt DOGE’s urgent work and inappropriately interfere with executive-branch functions. “Left undisturbed, this preliminary injunction will only invite further judicial incursions into internal agency decision-making,” he wrote.

Musk has been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud, describing it as a “ Ponzi scheme ” and insisting that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.

An appeals court refused to immediately to lift the block on DOGE access, though it split along ideological lines. Conservative judges in the minority said there’s no evidence that the team has done any “targeted snooping” or exposed personal information.

The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of labor unions and retirees represented by the group Democracy Forward.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland that blocked DOGE from Social Security systems did allow staffers to access data that has been redacted or stripped of anything personally identifiable.

The appeal is the latest in a string of emergency applications to the nation’s highest court as the Trump administration faces about 200 lawsuits challenging various aspects of President Donald Trump’s sweeping conservative agenda.