Latest news with #Uthmeier
NBC News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Republicans across the country are pushing bills to stop government 'weather modification'
'They're upset over what they call chemtrails they see in the sky,' Greene said of constituents who have contacted her about the issue. 'They're continually upset about it, and they're engaged on it. But it hadn't gotten there on a wide scale. Remember the flooding in Dubai? That was one of the first times I saw, like, 'Oh, this went mainstream, and people are paying attention.'' A Democrat who works on environmental policy said the episode has them feeling as bleak as ever about the future of their field. 'I saw someone tweet the other day a picture of the sky, and it was blue,' this person said. 'And then 20 minutes later, there were clouds. And they said, 'How is this possible?' And I'm like, have people just never looked up?' This person said the focus on geoengineering has crystallized in their mind as the next stage of the Republican response to the impact of climate change. 'It went from 'we don't believe in climate change' to 'we actually believe in this other thing,'' this person said. 'It absolutely is their response to climate change.' Greene and Burchett's legislation still has a long road ahead of it before it could become law, which Greene acknowledged in the interview. But in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed such legislation into law last month. That bill was a high-level priority for Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier, DeSantis' former chief of staff. At Uthmeier's urging, the state's Republican-dominated Legislature passed a bill this year that makes weather modification and geoengineering a third-degree felony punishable by a fine of up to $100,000. The bill passed with only Republican votes. 'Florida does appear to have seen evidence of weather modification activities in the state,' a spokesman for the attorney general's office said. 'We don't yet know what impacts cloud-seeding or aerosol releases have on environmental or human health, which is all the more reason why Florida wants to raise public awareness and stop weather modification experiments in the state.' In Florida, a decades-old law requires permission from the state for anyone to alter the weather. State officials told the Tampa Bay Times that no one has ever applied under the law. In a letter this month, Uthmeier warned publicly owned airports across the state that they must be in compliance with the new law, which requires public airports to report planes with weather modification devices to the state, and suggested that weather modification may have triggered the flooding in Texas. 'Because airports are most likely to catch those who seek to weaponize science in order to push their agenda, your compliance with these reporting obligations is essential to keeping our state safe from these harmful chemicals and experiments,' Uthmeier wrote this month. The Trump administration is also trying to address the concerns. This month, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin directed readers to his agency's new resources on geoengineering and contrails. (Contrails are naturally forming condensation trails from rockets and other aircraft.) Those new websites shut down claims of government weather control, saying the government was not engaged in solar geoengineering testing and that the 'federal government is not aware of there ever being a contrail intentionally formed over the United States for the purpose of geoengineering or weather modification.' Bartolotta highlighted the new information now available on the EPA's website, saying its mention of the issue is more evidence that her concerns are valid and adding that she is worried about potential adverse health impacts. 'I know so many people today, they're finally noticing, and it gets worse and worse and worse,' she said. 'Every single day, you can't look at the sky and not see huge stripes sprayed by all these planes every single day and every night.'
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Florida's New Cultural Warrior Is the Man Behind ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
As chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, James Uthmeier worked behind the scenes to cement the Republican governor's national reputation as a culture warrior. Mr. DeSantis rewarded him this year by appointing him attorney general. It was Mr. Uthmeier who announced last month that the state was opening its own immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. He made international headlines by referring to the swampy, remote location as 'Alligator Alcatraz.' The detention center's first weeks have been chaotic, and something of a mystery. But it has amounted to a political coup for Mr. Uthmeier. President Trump visited before it opened and praised the attorney general. 'You do a very good job,' Mr. Trump told him during a visit to the center early this month. Then, referring to Mr. Uthmeier, Mr. Trump remarked to others in attendance, 'He's even a good-looking guy. The guy's got a future.' The moment offered Mr. Uthmeier hope that Mr. Trump might consider endorsing him when he runs for a full term as attorney general next year, despite Mr. Uthmeier's close ties to Mr. DeSantis, who ran against Mr. Trump in last year's presidential primary. And it raised the profile of Mr. Uthmeier, a 37-year-old lawyer who has never been on a ballot, just as the term-limited Mr. DeSantis's power wanes. Florida Republicans have speculated that primary races in next year's midterms could pit a slate of Trump-backed candidates against a slate backed by Mr. DeSantis. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Florida AG investigating restaurant that hosted LGBTQ Pride event
Florida's Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday that his office has subpoenaed Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, Fla., in a state investigation into a drag performance that took place last month at a local wine bar Moore owns. In a news release, Uthmeier's office said there is evidence that a 'Pride Tea Dance' held at the Kilted Mermaid on June 29, advertised as an all-ages event, 'featured adult, sexualized performers in front of children, in violation of Florida law.' The subpoena sent to Moore, dated July 8, requests surveillance video, employee work schedules and contracts or invoices that identify which performers were present at the event. The attorney general's office is also asking Moore to produce information related to attendance at the event and copies of the Kilted Mermaid's policies regarding age verification, admission policies, security screening and ID checks. Uthmeier's office did not immediately return a request to clarify which specific Florida law the state is accusing Moore of violating. Neither the news release nor the subpoena specifies which laws she allegedly broke. Florida's 'Protection of Children Act,' which bars children from attending 'adult live performances' featuring sexual or lewd conduct, has been unenforceable since 2023, when a federal judge ruled it likely unconstitutional. The law does not directly reference drag performances, but is widely viewed, including by its primary sponsor, as aimed at them. In May, a federal appeals court panel upheld a lower court decision that described the state's law as overly broad and vaguely written, leaving the injunction barring its enforcement in place while the case continues. In a post on the social platform X, Uthmeier called the ruling 'radical and wrong' and said his office 'will fight aggressively and swiftly to get these bad decisions overturned.' 'I stand by our law that protects kids from drag shows and other sexually explicit adult performances,' he said. Moore, who has owned the Kilted Mermaid for more than a decade, must respond to Uthmeier's subpoena by Aug. 8. She told The Hill in an email, 'The Kilted Mermaid has done nothing wrong, and we are not certain what they are investigating as there is no crime listed on the subpoena.' In an interview Tuesday with NBC News, Moore said the bar has held the same Pride event annually for at least the past five years. 'We have the event every year; it's our gay pride event, and it is all ages,' she said. 'It's a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can't stay for the show.' Photos and videos of the event circulated on social media by conservative activists, including Jennifer Pippin, who leads a local chapter of Moms for Liberty, mischaracterized the event, Moore said. In a Facebook post the day after the event, Pippin wrote that she had reported the event to Uthmeier's office for violating Florida's law restricting 'adult live performances.' She told NBC News that she was unaware the law had been blocked.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jokers Troll Alligator Alcatraz Mastermind's Appeal to Get Their Exes Deported: ‘How About Mother-in-Laws?'
Feeling sad after being ditched by your lover? Heartbroken at being cheated on? Now you can get your own back on your ex—by turning them over to ICE. While it may sound a little like a Saturday Night Live sketch, it is actually the brainchild of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. The politician—famed for being the mastermind behind Alligator Alcatraz—took to social media Tuesday to encourage voters to snitch on their former sweethearts who are in the U.S. illegally. 'We recently got a tip from someone whose abusive ex overstayed a tourism visa. He is now cued up for deportation,' Uthmeier posted on X. 'If your ex is in this country illegally, please feel free to reach out to our office. We'd be happy to assist.' While some of Uthmeier's followers responded positively, others mocked the idea, with some comedians asking if they could have their meddlesome mothers-in-law deported instead. 'And don't forget nagging mothers-in-law, and that snotty kid with the nose ring at Starbucks who always gives you a dirty look when you ask for a 'medium',' replied @PeterDeGiglio. Another joker posted: 'Whatever you do, please don't deport my mother-in-law, [name redacted]… She gets off work at the [stop redacted] on Route 9 around 4:30 p.m., so please don't be waiting for her in the parking lot.' It didn't take long, though, for Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to jump on the idea. Within two hours, it posted on X: 'From domestic abuser to deported loser. ICE Tip Line: 866-DHS-2-ICE.' It's not the first time DHS has responded positively to Uthmeier's seemingly wacky proposals. His deport-your-ex gambit arrives barely a month after Uthmeier pitched 'Alligator Alcatraz,' a controversial migrant jail marooned in the Everglades and ringed by hungry reptiles. While it may have seemed a far-flung idea at the time, President Donald Trump greenlit and had the facility up and running within days. Since the camp opened, detainees have reported being 'like rats in an experiment,' swatting mosquitoes under 24-hour floodlights and eating spoiled food. Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's immigration policy, blasted critics of the scheme, claiming the reptile-ringed jail would give migrants 'a superior quality of care.' The Daily Beast has contacted the Florida Attorney General's Office for comment. Solve the daily Crossword
UPI
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Florida official under state investigation after hosting LGBTQ event
A protester makes a sign during a protest in San Francisco. Drag performances have because a flash point in culture wars, particularly in Florida where a local official is under investigation for possibly exposing children to a sexualized performance. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo July 22 (UPI) -- A small town elected official in Florida is under investigation by state Attorney General James Uthmeier for hosting a drag show that may have exposed children to a "sexualized performance." Uthmeier announced Tuesday he had subpoenaed Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, over a "Pride Tea Dance" held last month at the Kilted Mermaid, a wine bar she owns in the town on the Atlantic coast. However, it's unclear what charges Moore might face and questions remain concerning Uthmeier's legal basis for the investigation. Uthmeier's office cited evidence that the event was promoted as being open to all ages and included sexualized adult performers who "wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children." "In Florida, we don't sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults," Uthmeier said in a statement. The subpoena demands Moore turn over employee schedules, surveillance videos, contracts with performers, ticket sales records, the bar's age-verification protocols and other documents by Aug. 8. Moore told NBC News that the subpoena did not make sense to her because it did not accuse her of a crime. "We have the event every year; it's our gay pride event, and it is all ages," Moore told the news outlet, adding that the bar has hosted it for at least the past five years. "It's a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can't stay for the show." She said that the performances can be a "little racy" but do not include any nudity. Jennifer Pippin, a member of a local chapter of conservative parents group Moms for Liberty, called attention to the events at the Kilted Mermaid on social media. She alleged that Moore had violated Florida's "Protection of Children Act," which was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. However, the law has been held up in court as federal judges have suggested it is likely unconstitutional.
