Forrest Saunders

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Make Florida more affordable again sounds like the big goal of 2025, according to new leaders in the state legislature. But what will that look like?

In-state tuition for undocumented students could disappear in Florida. That's if a Republican state lawmaker gets his way next session.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Election night was over a month ago, but the Florida House just gained a new Republican. Tampa lawmaker, Rep.

Is Florida ready for the open carrying of firearms or even a repeal of some of its post-Parkland gun protections? A few Florida lawmakers think so, filing bills to make it happen.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — While Florida's Republicans kept their supermajorities in the state legislature with historic margins, Democrats are still a thing. Their leaders in the House and Senate sat down with ABC Action News' Forrest Saunders this week to discuss how to stay relevant in 2025 despite returning with superminorities in both chambers yet again.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ending in-state tuition for undocumented college students in Florida might actually happen. Florida's Senate President Ben Albritton said Monday he'd support the idea, provisionally.

“Because it's been in motion for 10 years, it's likely still in motion in their lives,” said Senate President Ben Albritton (R).

TALLAHASSEE, Fla — Controversial gun bills may not have much luck next session in Florida's legislature. The state Senate President isn't a fan of a couple of them, including repealing what many call “red flag” laws.

AI could be warning you about Florida's next hurricane "I guarantee you sometime over the next, you know, decades, that we will save lives,” said FL Emergency Management Dir. Kevin Guthrie. Prev Next Photo by: WFTS Posted 3 minutes ago TALLAHASSEE, Fla — The person warning you about Florida's next hurricane might not be a person at all. Florida's Emergency Management team rolled out new AI technology Wednesday that, they say, will save lives during future emergencies. Think of your average weather report. Little music in the background, a baritone meteorologist predicting partly cloudy conditions. Pretty standard, don't you think? Think again. AI now has the power to give you an almost identical broadcast to what you'd hear on your car radio, but it's not a real person, just real information. And a real opportunity, say state officials, to inform people during emergencies. BEACON (Broadcast Emergency Alerts and Communications Operations Network) is a first-of-its-kind program created as a joint venture between Florida Emergency Management, the University of Florida, and an AI company called Futuri. BEACON gathers emergency alerts and messages from official federal/state/local sources, prioritizes them, and turns them into a 24/7 AI-powered radio station. Listeners can stream it on the BEACON app or over the air with a regular old radio. Florida's Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said during Wednesday's rollout speed was among the biggest benefits. “That goes straight to the airwaves,” he said. “And we're really excited about that technology and that capability to get instant messaging out on the airwaves, and I guarantee you sometime over the next, you know, decades, that we will save lives.” The program is starting small. Just one BEACON, for now, operating out of the public radio station WUFT in Gainesville. In the future, BEACONs could be across the state, broadcasting in multiple languages and at all hours. The concept is simple. When an emergency happens, officials push out alerts, and in seconds, BEACON turns them into broadcasts that will run before, during, and as recovery begins. AI systems have come under scrutiny for reliability, recently. The Associated Press reported this in October. An AI hospital transcription tool was found to be making stuff up — including “racial commentary, violent rhetoric and even imagined medical treatments.” “It really depends on the quality of data that is being fed into the system,” said Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig. He dismissed accuracy concerns. BEACON, Anstandig said, will get its info from trusted sources, meaning its broadcasts will be just as trustworthy. “We know that the data is highly controlled,” said Anstandig. “It's high integrity, and so we have measures in place to be sure that we're only ever processing or using information that originates from statewide agencies or from sanctioned government agencies, and that makes a difference.” BEACON's next steps aren't certain. It'll be up to the legislature to fund it and expand the program across Florida. That means the AI's operators “will be back” next year to ask lawmakers for more cash when the session begins in March. Something to be mindful of. Florida is entering a new year where one of the main goals of Florida's new House SpeakerDanny Perez is trimming the budget. What that means for programs like this remains uncertain-- though emergency management often ranks high on the state's priority list. Viewers have been contacting ABC Action News after receiving suspicious text messages from numbers that claim to be the United States Postal Service. We spoke with a U.S. Postal Inspector about what to do if you receive this text message. Fake texts claiming to be USPS delivery services hit the Tampa Bay area Copyright 2024 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sign up for the Morning Headlines Newsletter and receive up to date information. 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Laws impacting everything from social media restrictions for minors to enhanced protections for first responders go into effect Jan. 1, 2025.