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The top stories near you
• President Donald Trump is expected to speak in The Villages early this afternoon and sign an executive order related to the nation's Medicare program. Florida's governor will be there with him. (News Service of Florida)
• The latest twist in the legal battle over removing the Rodman Dam — the last vestige of a 1960s effort to build a canal across Florida — arrived this week. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Forest Service that would have meant the dam's removal. (WUFT News)
• Bears are coming a little too close for comfort to some families living in Waldo. (WUFT News)
• Santa Fe College's presidential search is down to two finalists. (Gainesville Sun)
• A handful of powerful decision-makers and influencers on Florida's health care landscape spoke this week during an event at the University of Florida. Here's some of what they had to say. (WUFT News)
• Programming note: The Point is on hiatus tomorrow and will return to your inbox on Monday.
• The bond between two longtime friends — one of whom has Lou Gehrig's Disease — was made stronger on the Suwannee River during a recent weekend. The story is worth reading or watching in full, but in short, it's about two men, the return of their erstwhile boats and an appreciation for what we have in this life. (WUFT News)
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Around the state today
• This is not a climate change effect that's been discussed very much so far, but borrowing money for infrastructure projects could get a lot more expensive for some Florida communities. (Florida Phoenix)
• The Florida Climate Reporting Network is out with a series of profiles of Floridians who are trying to prepare their regions for climate change. (WLRN)
• The New England Patriots owner is fighting back with a lawsuit against the Palm Beach County prosecutor who has led the prostitution solicitation case against him. (Miami Herald)
• The Palm Beach Post documents the continuous buzz and excitement around sea turtle releases in its area.
• There's bipartisan opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would change Florida's closed primary system. (Florida Phoenix)
• The staffs of Miami's largest newspapers want to unionize. (WLRN)
• That old excuse for getting out of a speeding ticket because you need to get to the hospital quickly since your passenger is in labor? It was a real situation in Collier County this week. (Naples Daily News)
• Fayette County — no, not Lafayette, which is still very much alive today in our area — was once a county in this state. The Florida Memory Blog explains what happened.
From NPR News
• World: Removing Hurricane Debris Is A Top Priority In The Bahamas
• National: 22 Soldiers Hurt After Parachuting Into Trees During Mississippi Training Exercise
• Politics: Trump Keeps Using The Word 'Treason' But What's The Criminal Definition Of The Word?
• Politics: The Energy Company At The Center Of The Trump-Ukraine Controversy
• Race: 5 Decades Later, New Communities Land Trust Still Helps Black Farmers
• Science: Irrigation For Farming Could Leave Many Of The World's Streams And Rivers Dry
• Health: Sheriff's Deputy Sues Her County To Get Health Coverage For Transgender-Related Care
• Health: Doctor Gets 40 Years For Illegally Prescribing More Than Half A Million Opioid Doses
• Health: In Opioid Settlement, Johnson & Johnson Agrees To Pay Ohio Counties $20 Million
About today's curator
I'm Ethan Magoc, a news editor at WUFT. Originally from Pennsylvania, I've found a home telling Florida stories. I’m part of a team searching each morning for local and state stories that are important to you; please send feedback about today's edition or ideas for stories we may have missed to emagoc@wuft.org.