Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
First Coast Connect

First GOP presidential debate; wacky weather; Love at the Core NOW; new chef at TPC Sawgrass

Republican candidates square off Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee in the first presidential debate.
Morry Gash
/
AP
Republican candidates square off Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee in the first presidential debate.

Eight presidential hopefuls took the stage Wednesday night in Milwaukee for the first round of Republican presidential debates. Candidates grappled over controversial topics such as abortion rights, Ukrainian aid and former President Trump’s legal troubles.

Although Trump is positioned as the GOP’s frontrunner in the 2024 election, he chose not to attend the debate. Instead, he delivered his thoughts in a primetime interview with Tucker Carlson airing concurrently with the debate.

AG Gancarski of Florida Politics and Jacksonville Today and Chris Hand, government law attorney and former city of Jacksonville chief of staff, join us with their analysis.

Wacky weather

In addition to the extreme heat felt across the First Coast this year, weather experts are predicting more abnormal meteorological conditions. As hurricane season progresses, we can expect storm activity in the Atlantic to intensify.

Megan Borowski, senior meteorologist for the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network, sheds some light on what might be in store.

Love at the Core NOW

Love at the Core NOW is a night of praise and worship taking place Friday at St. John’s Cathedral in Downtown Jacksonville. Reese Dickerson and Cheryl Bowen, who are leading the event, share their vision.

TPC chef

TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship, recently added a new executive chef to its team. Matt Voskuil of Nineteen dishes out the details.

Stay Connected
Stacey Bennett is the producer of "First Coast Connect" and "What's Health Got to Do With It?" She is a Jacksonville-based singer-songwriter who performs under the nom de plume Folk is People. Stacey holds bachelor's degrees in both political science and psychology from the University of North Florida and a master's in business administration from Saint Leo University.