MIKE SCHNEIDER

I cover census, demographics, Florida and related topics.

FILE - The guitar shaped hotel is seen at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Hollywood, Fla. The state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida will be raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from online sports betting this decade, thanks to a compact between the tribe and Gov. Ron DeSantis that gave the tribe exclusive rights to run sports wagers as well as casino gambling on its reservations. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Florida online sports betting challenge is denied by state’s highest court

Opponents of online sports betting in Florida have lost their latest fight against a Seminole Tribe agreement with the state that permits the gambling.

FILE - Crowds fill Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom on the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Oct. 1, 2021. Almost a year after Florida lawmakers passed a law giving Florida’s governor control over Walt Disney World’s governing district, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, called the takeover a success, despite an exodus of workers, ongoing litigation and accusations of cronyism by the new leadership. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Attorneys try to stop DeSantis appointees from giving depositions in Disney lawsuit

Attorneys for the Walt Disney World governing district taken over last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ supporters don’t want the governor’s appointees answering questions under oath as part of a lawsuit against Disney.

FILE - Asylum seekers arrive at the Roosevelt Hotel on Friday, May 19, 2023, in New York. Three New York City boroughs lost almost 80,000 residents from people moving away last year, according to population estimates released Thursday, March 14, 2024, but city officials think those numbers are a major undercount that didn't capture the influx of asylum seekers who came to the city.(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

NYC thinks Census Bureau estimates missed tens of thousands of asylum seekers

Three New York City boroughs have lost almost 80,000 residents from people moving away last year. That’s according to population estimates released Thursday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens to Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board chairman Martin Garcia, right, deliver remarks during a news conference at CFTOD headquarters at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Feb. 22, 2024. The shake-up of Walt Disney World's governing district more than a year after it was taken over by Gov. DeSantis' appointees continued Wednesday, March 13, 2024 with the departure of its board chairman who had been highly critical of Disney. Garcia's departure as chairman is coming a week after the district's administrator, Glen Gilzean, left to accept an appointment by DeSantis as interim elections supervisor in Orange County, the home of Orlando, at half the salary. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, file)

Shakeup continues at Disney district a year after takeover by DeSantis appointees

The shakeup of Walt Disney World’s governing district more than a year after it was taken over by Gov.

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the Parental Rights in Education bill, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, at Classical Preparatory School, March 28, 2022, in Shady Hills, Fla. Students and teachers will be able to speak freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it’s not part of instruction, under a settlement reached Monday, March 11, 2024, between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who had challenged a state law which critics dubbed “Don't Say Gay.” (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)

Florida teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender ID under ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill settlement

Students and teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it’s not part of instruction.

FILE - Crowds fill Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom on the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Oct. 1, 2021. Almost a year after Florida lawmakers passed a law giving Florida’s governor control over Walt Disney World’s governing district, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, called the takeover a success, despite an exodus of workers, ongoing litigation and accusations of cronyism by the new leadership. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Fight between Disney and DeSantis appointees over district control gets a July court hearing

The court fight between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over control of Walt Disney World’s government won’t be decided until at least this summer, provided the two sides don’t reach a settlement beforehand.

FILE - The guitar shaped hotel is seen at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Hollywood, Fla. The state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida will be raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from online sports betting this decade, thanks to a compact between the tribe and Gov. Ron DeSantis that gave the tribe exclusive rights to run sports wagers as well as casino gambling on its reservations. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Florida rivals ask courts to stop online sports gambling off tribal lands

The state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida are raking in millions of dollars from online sports betting, thanks to a compact that gave the tribe exclusive rights to run sports wagers and casino gambling on its reservations.

FILE - Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board administrator Glen Gilzean listens to chairman Martin Garcia, left, during the board's meeting in the headquarters of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Aug. 23, 2023. Less than a year after being picked to lead Walt Disney World's government after it was taken over by Gov. Ron DeSantis' allies, the district's administrator was appointed by the Florida governor on Monday, March 4, 2024 to run elections in the county that is home to the Disney theme park resort and other theme parks. Gilzean was appointed by DeSantis to be supervisor of elections in Orange County, Florida's fifth largest county. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)

DeSantis names Disney World district administrator to run elections in Democratic Orange County

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a new job for the longtime supporter who has led Walt Disney World’s government since his allies took it over.

FILE - Crowds fill Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom on the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Oct. 1, 2021. Almost a year after Florida lawmakers passed a law giving Florida’s governor control over Walt Disney World’s governing district, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, called the takeover a success, despite an exodus of workers, ongoing litigation and accusations of cronyism by the new leadership. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

DeSantis calls takeover of Disney government a ‘success’ despite worker exodus, litigation

Almost a year after Florida lawmakers passed a law giving Florida’s governor control over Walt Disney World’s governing district, Gov.

FILE - Pride flags are held at the Tennessee Capitol, Jan. 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. Dozens of health officials, civil rights groups, individuals and businesses have weighed in about how the U.S. Census Bureau should ask about sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time on its most comprehensive survey of American life. An Associated Press review of the 91 written public comments posted in January 2024 shows them to be largely supportive of the proposed additions, though not without constructive criticism. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

Proposed questions on sexual orientation and gender identity for the Census Bureau’s biggest survey

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to test questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for its most comprehensive survey of American life.

FILE - A fan holds a flag on Gay Pride night in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Feb. 9, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. Dozens of health officials, civil rights groups, individuals and businesses have weighed in about how the U.S. Census Bureau should ask about sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time on its most comprehensive survey of American life. An Associated Press review of the 91 written public comments posted in January 2024 shows them to be largely supportive of the proposed additions, though not without constructive criticism. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

The Census Bureau is considering how to ask about gender identity. People have their opinions

The U.S. Census Bureau is thinking about how to ask about sex. And dozens of health officials, civil rights groups, individuals and businesses have weighed in about how the agency should ask about sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time on its most comprehensive survey of American

FILE - Maureen Reid, left, and her guide dog, Gaston, cross the intersection of Wood Street and Roosevelt Avenue with Sandy Murillo, center, and Geovanni Bahena, relying on an audible signal for the blind, on April 26, 2023, in Chicago. Faced with a growing backlash, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that it is pausing plans to change how it asks people about disability in its most comprehensive survey, a move that would have overhauled how disabilities are defined by the nation's largest statistical agency. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)

The Census Bureau halts changing how it asks about disabilities following a backlash

Facing a growing backlash, the U.S. Census Bureau has halted plans to change how it asks people about disabilities.

FILE - Minnie and Mickey Mouse perform for guests during a musical show in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district. The request this week comes as the company is accusing the appointees and the governor’s office of failing to produce documents it had requested as part of the litigation. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Disney wants trade secrets kept confidential in lawsuit with DeSantis appointees

Disney wants to keep confidential any proprietary information or trade secrets that comes out of its state court fight with Gov.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign event at Wally's bar, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Hampton, N.H. A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Disney's First Amendment lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis, leaving the company's hope of regaining control of a district that governs Walt Disney World in its fight in another state court challenge. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Disney appeals dismissal of free speech lawsuit as DeSantis says company should ‘move on’

Disney is appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ takeover of Walt Disney World’s governing district.

FILE - Minnie and Mickey Mouse perform for guests during a musical show in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district. The request this week comes as the company is accusing the appointees and the governor’s office of failing to produce documents it had requested as part of the litigation. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Federal judge dismisses Disney’s free speech lawsuit against DeSantis

A federal judge has dismissed Disney’s free speech lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Wednesday’s ruling deals a setback to the company’s hopes of regaining control of a district that governs Walt Disney World.

Florida attorneys who criticized discrimination ruling should be suspended, judge says

A judge is recommending 30-day suspensions for a pair of Florida lawyers who criticized a ruling in a discrimination case.

FILE - Minnie and Mickey Mouse perform for guests during a musical show in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district. The request this week comes as the company is accusing the appointees and the governor’s office of failing to produce documents it had requested as part of the litigation. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Disney asks for delay in DeSantis appointees’ lawsuit, as worker describes a distracted district

Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district.

FILE - The sun sets behind the New York skyline, Nov. 13, 2022, as seen from Calvary Cemetery. New York City appears to have gotten an additional 1,090 people added to its population total recently after asking the Census Bureau to double-check the city's numbers from the head count of every U.S. resident, city officials said. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Some US states and NYC succeed in getting 2020 census numbers double-checked and increased

Illinois is adding tens of thousands of people to its population total, and California is getting misplaced sailors on an aircraft carrier put in the right location.

FILE - Minnie and Mickey Mouse perform for guests during a musical show in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district. The request this week comes as the company is accusing the appointees and the governor’s office of failing to produce documents it had requested as part of the litigation. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Disney hopes prosecutor’s free speech case against DeSantis helps its own lawsuit against governor

Disney is hoping a recent decision bolstering a Florida prosecutor’s First Amendment case against Gov.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a Fox News Channel town hall Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Florida welcomes students fleeing campus antisemitism, with little evidence that there’s demand

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has directed the state’s university system to make it easier for out-of-state students facing antisemitism and other religious harassment in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war to transfer to Florida campuses.

CORRECTS LAST NAME FROM WINKLER TO WINKER - This photo provided by attorney David Winker shows Brooke Girley; her father, Jerry Girley; and their attorney, David Winker, together in Jerry Girley’s law office in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. The Florida Bar is asking an administrative judge to recommend discipline for the Girleys over comments they made about a discrimination case in which Jerry Girley was an attorney. The Girleys say any disciplinary action would set a bad precedent by chilling free speech for lawyers in Florida. (David Winker via AP)

Lawyers may face discipline for criticizing a judge’s ruling in discrimination case

A father-daughter pair of Florida lawyers may face disciplinary action for speaking out against a judge’s ruling in a civil rights case.

FILE - Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody speaks at a news conference, Jan. 26, 2023, in Miami. A petition initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida constitution on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, reached the necessary number of verified signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

Abortion initiative hits milestone for getting in front of Florida voters

A petition initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida constitution has reached the necessary number of verified signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot.

FILE - The briefcase of a census taker is seen as she knocks on the door of a residence, Aug. 11, 2020, in Winter Park, Fla. Eleven small cities in Illinois and Iowa are the only municipalities so far to have signed agreements with the U.S. Census Bureau for a second count of their residents in 2024, the first year the special censuses can be conducted, in a repeat of what happened during the 2020 census. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Several Midwestern cities are going to be counted again like it’s 2020

Four years after the last census, almost a dozen small communities in the Midwest are going to be counted again in hopes of getting more state funding.

People look up at Christmas lights as crowds stroll around downtown Lisbon's Chiado neighborhood, Saturday evening, Dec. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

World population up 75 million this year, standing at 8 billion on Jan. 1

The world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year’s Day it will stand at more than 8 billion people.

FILE - A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse appears in front of the Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World, Jan. 15, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The earliest version of Disney's most famous character, Mickey Mouse, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Disney says in lawsuit that DeSantis-appointed government is failing to release public records

Disney has filed a lawsuit claiming that the oversight government for Walt Disney World, which was taken over by appointees of Gov.

The Miami skyline is viewed from the Rickenbacker Causeway in South Florida, Dec. 15, 2023. South Carolina and Florida were the two fastest-growing states in the U.S., as the South region dominated population gains in 2023, and the U.S. growth rate ticked upward slightly from the depths of the pandemic due to a drop in deaths, according to estimates released Tuesday, Dec. 19 by the U.S. Census Bureau. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP)

Immigration fuels uptick in US population growth

Immigration powered population gains in the United States for a second year in a row. According to Census Bureau estimates released Tuesday, immigration coupled with a drop in the number of deaths from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled an uptick in the U.S. growth rate in 2023.

A person fishes on the Newport Fishing Pier in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, as the gusty winds, heavy rain, flooded streets and other hazards are expected continue over the weekend in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)

Rain, gusty winds bring weekend washout to Florida before system heads up East Coast

It’s beginning to look at lot like ... hurricane season. At least that’s the case across much of South Florida, where it’s been windy and rainy for two days and the forecast predicts more of the same this busy holiday season weekend.

Professional matchmaker Michal Naisteter speaks with attendees at a Philadelphia Distilling Daters Mixer Hosted by Date Him Philly in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. Some of the most populous urban areas in the United States have an imbalanced sex ratio. Many of the largest counties along the Eastern Seaboard and in the Deep South skew female, while the largest urban counties in the West tilt male, according to data released this fall from the 2022 American Community Survey (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Why more women live in major East Coast counties while men outnumber them in the West

There are more women than men in some of the largest urban U.S. counties east of the Mississippi River, on the Eastern Seaboard and in the Deep South.

FILE - Maureen Reid, left, and her guide dog, Gaston, cross the intersection of Wood Street and Roosevelt Avenue with Sandy Murillo, center, and Geovanni Bahena, relying on an audible signal for the blind, on April 26, 2023, in Chicago. The U.S. Census Bureau wants to change how it asks people about disabilities, and some advocates are complaining that they were not consulted enough on what amounts to a major overhaul in how disabilities would be defined by the federal government. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)

The Census Bureau wants to change how it asks about disabilities. Some advocates don’t like it

The U.S. Census Bureau wants to change how it asks people about disabilities, and some advocates don’t like where things are heading.

FILE - Minnie and Mickey Mouse perform for guests during a musical show in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Friday, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney on Tuesday, Nov. 14, released a study showing its economic impact in Florida at more than $40 billion, as it battles in courts with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees over their takeover of the district that governs the entertainment company's massive resort in central Florida.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

DeSantis appointees accuse Disney district predecessors of cronyism; Disney calls them revisionist

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to Walt Disney World’s governing district have released a series of reports justifying their takeover of the government and accusing their Disney-controlled predecessors of being a part of “the most egregious exhibition of corporate cronyism in modern American history.”