Politics
Last Call for 8.26.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
— First Shot —
Florida skywatchers have a date with Earth’s shadow Thursday night — provided the state’s late-August clouds don’t crash the party.
A deep partial lunar eclipse will be visible across Florida overnight Thursday into Friday, with nearly all of the Full Moon passing through the darkest part of Earth’s shadow.
According to NASA, about 93% of the Moon’s diameter will be inside the umbra — Earth’s dark central shadow — at the height of the eclipse. The Moon will not disappear completely, but most of its surface should darken and may take on a rusty or copper-colored tint.
The show starts subtly at 9:24 p.m. Eastern Thursday, when the Moon enters Earth’s lighter outer shadow. The more noticeable partial eclipse begins at 10:34 p.m., according to NASA’s official timetable.
Maximum eclipse arrives at 12:13 a.m. Friday. The partial phase ends at 1:52 a.m., and the Moon leaves Earth’s outer shadow at 3:02 a.m.
The eclipse will be visible throughout the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa. Floridians will not need to travel to a narrow “path of totality,” as they would for a solar eclipse.
They also will not need eclipse glasses. Lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye, though binoculars or a small telescope can provide a closer look at Earth’s curved shadow moving across the Moon.
— Evening Reads —
—“Donald Trump loves to pick winners. He also plays it safe.” via Ashley Wu of The New York Times
—“Trump plans to buy Midterm ads about his own record” via Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker of The Atlantic
—“The bizarre roots of Trump’s trade war on Canada” via Zack Beauchamp of Vox
—“Before Pete Hegseth fired him, top general was advised to drop Kid Rock probe” via Dan Lamothe and Noah Robertson of The Washington Post
—“The connections that turned a precocious teen into the fallen ‘Nostradamus of AI’” via Berber Jin, Ben Cohen and Anissa Gardizy of The Wall Street Journal
—“OpenAI’s Hugging Face hack debrief raises more questions than it answers” via Maxwell Zeff and Lily Hay Newman of WIRED
—”Meta settles with 47 states over social media lawsuits — but not Florida” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics
—”Flock off? Ron DeSantis says automated license plate readers ‘out of control,’ warns of ‘surveillance state’” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—“Duke Energy Florida was approached about huge data centers, among largest in world” via Emily L. Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times
—“How Tim Curry walked into an audition — and became Frank-N-Furter” via Seth Abramovitch of The Hollywood Reporter
—“Dolly Parton outsmarted every dumb-blonde joke” via Amanda Hess of The New York Times
— Quote of the Day —
“Jelly Roll is 100% not welcome to Florida’s Panhandle. I don’t even want to see his bus on I-10.”
— U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, declaring nearly 2,500 miles of coast-to-coast interstate a Jelly Roll exclusion zone.
— Put it on the Tab —
Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
Whatever you do, do not order U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis a Jelly Roll, we’re assuming the Panhandle ban is accompanied by a D.C. area no-contact order.
It’s too early for an AMF, but the anti-Flock crusaders can raise a glass to DeSantis, who says the license plate readers are “out of control.”
Will DeSantis hit the trail with GOP Governor nominee Byron Donalds? Until the Governor gives a yes or no, he’s stuck with a Definite Maybe.
— Breakthrough Insights —
— Tune In —
Back to the Marlins
The Florida Marlins look to snap a two-game losing streak as they conclude a three-game series in South Florida against the Boston Red Sox (6:40 p.m. ET, Marlins.TV).
Boston took the first two games of the series 4-2 and 7-3; the second game was decided in 11 innings when Boston’s Jarren Duran hit a grand slam to give the Red Sox a four-run lead.
Miami sits four games out of the final National League wild card spot with 29 games remaining in the regular season.
The Marlins are scheduled to send Ryan Gusto to the mound in search of his first win of the season. Gusto was acquired in a trade with the Houston Astros last season and has lost all six decisions in a Marlins uniform since joining the club.
Miami last made the playoffs in 2023 and has not won a postseason game since 2003.
Following tonight’s game, the Marlins go on the road to face the Washington Nationals for four games and then the Kansas City Royals for three before returning to Miami for nine straight home games from Sept. 4-13.
___
Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
The post Last Call for 8.26.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..