The two candidates for vice president are set to debate each other, and Gov. Ron DeSantis discusses the state's upcoming abortion amendment vote in a speech in Tampa.
Vance accepts invitation to debate Walz in October
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate, has accepted an invitation to debate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, on Oct. 1, hosted by CBS News.
"The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already," Vance wrote on social media.
"Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1st, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well," Vance continued. "I look forward to seeing you at both!"
It's not clear if Walz has or will accept the invitation for September. It's worth noting that Trump could be sentenced on Sept. 18 in his New York hush money case.
Shortly after CBS News invited both vice presidential candidates to participate in a debate on Wednesday, Walz accepted the invitation to debate Walz.
"See you on October 1, JD," Walz wrote on social media.
The Harris campaign said in a statement that it "has accepted CBS' invitation to a Vice Presidential Candidate Debate on October 1. Governor Walz looks forward to debating JD Vance -- if he shows up."
DeSantis visits Tampa to speak about abortion amendment
Gov. Ron DeSantis is in Tampa Thursday evening to attend an event at Jesuit High School to discuss the potential impact of Amendment 4 on Florida.
Amendment 4, which would protect abortion up to 24 weeks, will appear on the ballot in November.
Right now, a six-week abortion ban is currently in effect. The amendment needs 60% support from voters to pass.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is zeroing in on what it calls restrictive abortion access in the state.
Former President Donald Trump, a Florida resident, has not yet said how he will vote on the abortion amendment, saying last week that he’ll announce his decision soon.
But he has said he supports leaving the decision up to individual states. Right now, Florida has a ban on abortions after six weeks with certain exceptions.
Florida Republican Party Chair Evan Power said Democrats are losing on issues of the economy, inflation and immigration, and that they aren’t being honest.
“Why are Democrats seemingly saying that he does support a nationwide ban?” Power asked. “Well, because the Democrats are losing on all issues that matter. The Democrats are losing on all these issues, so they are trying to distract the public from issues that are important to them.”
Democrats, ocean advocates denounce 'Project 2025' proposal to dismantle NOAA
Democrats and environmental advocates are blasting a proposal by a conservative think-tank to "break up and downsize" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The plan developed by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 claims that NOAA “has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry,” and says, “(NOAA) should be dismantled and many of its functions eliminated, sent to other agencies, privatized, or placed under the control of states and territories.”
NOAA houses the National Weather Service, performs oceanic and atmospheric research, and sets policy for commercial fisheries. Mark Spalding, the president of The Ocean Foundation, which seeks to conserve ocean ecosystems, says if NOAA were dismantled it would have impacts on protecting federal waters, and on farmers and Americans on the coasts who rely on NWS predictions.
“It’s simply crazy, full stop, to do this,” Spalding said. “We’ve seen through tax cuts and repeated tax cuts, the starvation of the United States federal government’s research budget. And so, the ability of an agency like NOAA to do its job has been consistently undermined for years. And so, this feels like the attempt to give it a final blow and knock it away.”
When asked if the agency has any comment on the Project 2025 proposal, a NOAA spokesperson said: “NOAA doesn’t respond to speculative inquiries.”
But, the proposal has become a campaign issue for Democrats. As Hurricane Debby hit the Sunshine State last week, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried posted on X: “Reminder to Floridians, Trump’s Project 2025 would eliminate @NOAA.”