This Week on NewsNight
In the first of a two part NewsNight Conversations series, community members and stakeholders look at how a years-long effort to restore Florida’s treasured Indian River Lagoon is going, and the challenges remaining in rejuvenating and maintaining the waterway and its wildlife.
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Crisis In Haiti
NewsNight | Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, on Haiti’s security crisis & the debate over migration
NewsNight’s Steve Mort talks with Jacqueline Charles who covers Haiti and the Caribbean for the Miami Herald about Haiti’s security crisis, the debate over migration to the United States, and the political situation which has resulted in gangs essentially running the country.
NewsNight | U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost represents Orlando, about the crisis in Haiti.
NewsNight’s Steve Mort talks with U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost from Orlando about the crisis in Haiti. Frost has joined several fellow Democrats in Congress in urging the White House to make sure the United States doesn’t return Haitian nationals to the Caribbean country during the crisis. He’s also calling for an extension and re-designation of the Temporary Protected Status afforded to Haitians in the United States.
NewsNight | U.S. Representative Mike Waltz represents Volusia County, about the crisis in Haiti.
NewsNight’s Steve Mort talks with U.S. Representative Mike Waltz, who represents Volusia County, about the crisis in Haiti. Waltz, a Republican, is a staunch critic of the Biden administration, particularly on foreign affairs and America’s military entanglements overseas. He sits on the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees.
NewsNight Interviews
WUCF TV
NewsNight | Interview with Vice President of the Brevard Federation of Teachers, Vanessa Skipper
Newsnight caught up with Vice President of the Brevard Federation of Teachers, Vanessa Skipper, who says SB1482 is a bandaid fix, there are more underlying issues that needs to be addressed. Upon retirement , teachers start looking into other career choices. Math and science teachers are ditching the classrooms for the space industry.
Senate Bill 1482 is trying to do away with the waiting period of six months or more for retired teachers and school staff face in the Deferred Retirement Option Program if they want to return to the classroom. If this bill gets the green light, it'll kick in right before the new school year on July 1st.
Immigration (English & Spanish)
NewsNight en Español
WUCF TV
NewsNight Spoke With An Undocumented Immigrant About Their Experiences
WUCF TV
NewsNight en Español | Pronóstico para la temporada de huracanes del Atlántico
Transportation Update
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings talks with NewsNight’s Steve Mort about developing and financing Central Florida’s transportation infrastructure.
Hurricane Resiliency
WUCF TV
NewsNight | Amy Green, Inside Climate News Reporter, talks Governor DeSantis's record on climate
Pine Hills Community Solutions
WUCF TV
NewsNight | Orange County Sheriff's John Mina on Pine Hills Community
NEWSNIGHT PODCAST
About NewsNight
NewsNight is a weekly, taped 30-minute program, featuring a team of journalists in radio, tv, newspaper, and blogs from across Central Florida. The show is a weekly round-table discussion that highlights local journalism around important community topics. It is the story behind the story. The panel will break down the big story or stories of the week and discuss what and how they’ll impact the community.
Your community.
Your concerns.
Your journalists.
NewsNight airs every Friday at 8:30 p.m. on WUCF.
Meet The Team
Steve Mort
Steve is the Host and Executive Producer for NewsNight. Steve has been based in Orlando since 2005. Before joining WUCF in 2019, Steve frequently traveled on assignment with the PBS NewsHour as a producer, videographer and editor, working alongside Judy Woodruff, Gwen Ifill and other NewsHour correspondents. He’s also reported for a wide variety of international news outlets including AFP, Deutsche Welle, Radio New Zealand, and TV networks around the world. Before moving to Florida, Steve was based in Washington, DC and then New York, covering international affairs. Steve began his career as a radio journalist in the UK, working for ITN, the BBC and London’s LBC Radio.
Krystel Knowles
Krystel is an Emmy nominated and award-winning reporter and Senior Producer for NewsNight. Before joining the Central Florida news station in 2022, she worked at Spectrum News 13 as a Space Coast reporter covering rocket launches, she also worked at Suncoast News Network in Sarasota as a morning anchor and a multi-media journalist for ABC Action News in Tampa. Krystel has more than 16 years of news experience. She started her career in print journalism as a correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times before becoming a staff writer for Focus Magazine and head reporter for South Tampa Community News. Krystel is a Florida native who spent almost a decade in South America, where she became fluent in Spanish and French.
Join the Conversation
We want to hear from you! Send us your story ideas about what you want to see covered in the community. Email NewsNight