Right from wrong

By Christine Sexton| Senior Reporter

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Byron Donalds doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong,” a new political ad paid by Conservatives for Ethical Leadership, chaired by former Republican state lawmaker-turned-Democrat J.C. Planas, claims. The ad is airing on cable in the Tallahassee media market and running digitally in the 17 counties Donalds lost during the GOP primary in August. It’s also airing in The Villages.

AHCA has made more than 150 referrals to the state’s attorney general’s Medicaid fraud unit to investigate and potentially prosecute, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. The state also has restricted or suspended payments to more than 260 providers suspected of Medicaid fraud and has, since the beginning of the year, terminated 220 providers from the state’s program. DeSantis said the referrals and suspensions were the first “salvo,” of actions following the state’s enhanced Medicaid fraud and abuse detection efforts.

Former legislator and Republican Clerk of the Court hopeful Mike Caruso, who’s been charged with five felony counts of child molestation, is entitled to the presumption of innocence until he’s proven guilty. That does not mean, however, that Caruso should be supported by the Palm Beach County GOP, which included him in its 2026 voters’ guide, the governor said. “In the political context, to have been removed from office because there was sufficient evidence to do it, to me, you know, that’s enough to say no dice,” DeSantis said.

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