Florida News That Impacts You – July 15th, 2025
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you throughout the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast.
- Florida ranks first for religious liberty according to the First Liberty Institute's Religious Liberty in the States Index. The index is said to be the most comprehensive legal analysis of religious liberty protections across all 50 states. In response, during a press conference on Monday, Governor DeSantis said: Florida holds several #1 rankings, leading the nation in education, economy, and tourism—and now, Florida is #1 in religious liberty. We’re grateful for this recognition from the First Liberty Institute, which has just named Florida the #1 state in the nation for protecting religious liberty. Religious liberty is critical to the foundation and function of America, and I am proud that Florida excels in protecting this right.
- Brightline is set to miss an interest payment to investors today. The tax-except bonds in question were issued last year through the Florida Development Finance Corp. According to Brightline, the payments to investors will be late, as opposed to being skipped, however, the development comes as Brightline is currently seeking an additional $400 million in debt financing for a potential expansion from Orlando to Tampa.
- It'll be mostly cloudy, humid with a chance of rain and thunderstorms throughout the day today with highs in mid- to- upper 80’s, which is typical for this date. Similar weather is expected through Wednesday. A Saharan dust plume has moved into the Gulf with another plume currently working across the central Atlantic with the potential to impact our weather later this week.
- The National Hurricane Center is tracking a disturbance that’s currently crossing Florida from the Atlantic towards the Gulf. The system is currently given a 40% chance for development as it’s expected to track westward along the northern Gulf later this week.
- Gas prices rose two cents per gallon on Monday. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $2.95 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.11 per gallon, in Martin the average is $2.96 and in Indian River County the average is $2.97 per gallon.