Your Florida Daily: Trump-DeSantis rivalry takes state in Orlando, special session begins today

The Trump-DeSantis rivalry grows intense, personal and crude as GOP candidates gather in Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – Former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis were in Central Florida this weekend to speak at a state party event called the Freedom Summit.

DeSantis never mentioned Trump but that was not the case for the former president.

“As a leader I’ll always conduct myself in a way you can be proud of and as your president I promise you this I will not let you down,” DeSantis said.

“My people said, ‘Sir don’t hit him, he’s a Republican.’ I said, ‘I don’t care if he’s a Republican’ and we hit him hard and now he’s like a wounded falling bird from the sky,” Trump fired toward DeSantis.

The candidates will be back in Florida on Wednesday for the third GOP debate.

Trump, though, will again not participate.

Jewish school security, vouchers, hurricane help on Florida special session agenda

The Florida legislature will kick off a special session called on by DeSantis today.

Lawmakers are set to take up several big issues from Israel, to a crackdown on Iran and more money to help homeowners during hurricanes.

One resolutions condemns the attack by Hamas.

“While we are here to stand with Israel, let me make one thing very clear. This was not war against different people in a faraway land. It was an attack on all of us,” State Rep. Randy Fine, of Brevard County, said.

Other bills include $10 million for improving security at facilities that are “high risk for violent attacks or hate crimes” and $25 million to improve security at Jewish schools. Lawmakers may also expand restrictions on the state’s ability to do business with companies tied to Iran.

Not on the agenda: addressing Florida’s ongoing property insurance crisis.

Lawmakers will, however, be discussing private school vouchers and look at expanding the availability of a voucher scholarship to help children with special needs.

The special session gets underway at 10 a.m.

Shopper finds human skull in Florida thrift store

A human skull uncovered at a Florida thrift store has law enforcement investigating.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the shopper, who happened to be an anthropologist, noticed the skull in the Halloween section of a thrift store in North Fort Myers and recognized it to be human.

Deputies responded to the store and recovered the skull and brought it to the county medical examiner for testing.

The store owner told deputies the skull was located in a storage unit that was purchased years prior.

Random Florida Fact

Cedar Key Florida was once at the center of the global wooden pencil industry.

Back in in the 1800s, the Faber family of Germany was the leading producer of pencils in the world and when a son immigrated to the U.S. in search of splinter-free wood, he eventually found Cedar Key.

Faber bought thousands of land and timber rights, and shipped them to the family pencil factories in Germany.

In 1858, he took over a nearby island, creating a booming logging town with the help of the Trans-Florida railroad.

As business was thriving, the number of cedar trees was dwindling and in 1896, a massive hurricane destroyed the mills, factories, trees and most of the town.

Faber abandoned Cedar Key, which took years of rebuilding to recover.

Thanks again to Jay for sending over that Random Florida Fact.