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• From our Fresh Take Florida team: For nearly two years, the Florida Boxing Commission has considered relaxing its ban on elbow strikes in sanctioned Muay Thai matches, and the commission now says it has agreed to lift the ban. The new proposal is making its way through the rulemaking process. It requires a change to Florida’s administrative code. Once finalized, it will specify that striking with the elbow to any target is not a foul for amateur Muay Thai fighters who are at least 18 years old. (WUFT News)

• WUFT News: As Alachua County Enforcement Gets Up To Speed, Are Stores Flouting New Age Restriction on Tobacco Sales? "Alachua County raised the legal tobacco age from 18 to 21 last October, but full enforcement has been slow to get under way, raising questions about whether some shops have continued to sell to underage buyers. The ordinance covers electronic cigarettes, liquid nicotine and all other tobacco-containing products."

• WUFT News: Florida Government Employees Learn Security Tips At Ocala Workshop Amid Rise In Cyberattacks. "Attorney General Ashley Moody vowed at a cybersecurity workshop Tuesday afternoon to be proactive and aggressive against cybercriminals. Cyberattacks have been on the rise in Florida cities. In 2019, Lake City, Riviera Beach and Key Biscayne were among those hit with ransomware, which encrypts the data on a network, making it inaccessible. Hackers will demand a ransom of hundreds of thousands of dollars, usually in bitcoin, to fix the problem."

• WUFT News: High Springs Resident Selected As New Charter Review Commission Member. "The Alachua County Commissioners on Tuesday appointed to a new member to the charter review commission, replacing a disgruntled one who resigned abruptly last week."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Volunteers keep tabs on health of homeless. "A local student-run organization has had its finger on Gainesville’s pulse for the past two years, and it’s beginning to expand internationally. Hearts for the Homeless gives free blood pressure screenings to Gainesville’s most vulnerable population: the homeless."

• CityLab: Where America's Climate Migrants Will Go As Sea Level Rises. "It also shows that cities closest to the flood-prone areas, and that aren’t typically attractive destinations for newcomers, could see a higher-than-average influx of migrants. In Florida, for example, that means people may increasingly move to the shrinking core of the peninsula as the coastlines disappear into the ocean."

• Gainesville Sun ($): River backers say bill threatens legal-protection bid. "Local environmentalists and Alachua County commissioners said Tuesday that if a proposed state law, House Bill 1199, passes, it would threaten any chance for the county to curtail the algae choking some North Central Florida springs."

• WUSF: Changes Near After Study Of Weeki Wachee River Erosion. "The Weeki Wachee Springs State Park is a longstanding tourist attraction in Hernando County, but a study has shown that it may be too popular."

• Alachua County Today: 2020 Presidential Preference Primary, City of Gainesville Regular Election vote-by-mail ballots mailed. "Nearly 22,000 vote-by-mail ballots for the 2020 Presidential Preference Primary and City of Gainesville Regular Election will be mailed by Feb. 6. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is 5 p.m. Saturday, March 7."

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Around the state today

• Florida Today ($): Governor dealt setback by fellow Republicans on E-Verify. "A Florida Senate panel Tuesday dealt a blow to Gov. Ron DeSantis's latest push against illegal immigration, approving a measure which exempts the powerful agriculture industry from checking the eligibility of new hires in a federal database."

• WJCT: Committee Seeks Documents, Communications Related To Failed JEA Privatization. "In its first meeting, the Jacksonville City Council’s Special Investigatory Committee on JEA asked for all documents related to the now-halted sales process of the city-owned utility and all communications to or from Mayor Lenny Curry and others."

• Sarasota Herald-Tribune ($): Gruters blasts legislation targeting New College. "Sarasota state senator says New College should remain independent and not be merged with Florida State University, a consolidation proposal that has been put forward in the House."

• Fort Myers News-Press ($): Defective drywall lawsuit reaches settlement, a decade after Chinese product forced many from their homes. "Hundreds of families in Southwest Florida may finally be paid in a lawsuit aimed at problems caused by dangerous imported drywall used in their homes."

• Miami Herald: Dolphins shot, stabbed and killed off Florida coast. There’s a $20,000 reward for answers. "Three Florida dolphins met gruesome deaths and authorities want those responsible found and punished."

• The Ledger ($): Florida Poly leaders oppose merger with UF. "Leaders of Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland will lobby against a proposed bill to put school under authority of University of Florida."

• Florida Times-Union ($): Suspect tells Jacksonville police that someone ‘had to take a stand’ after driving into GOP tent. "A man under arrest after his van rammed a Republican Party voter registration tent outside a Jacksonville Walmart said someone 'had to take a stand' and that he doesn’t like the president, according to a less redacted segment of his arrest report."

From NPR News

• World: 109 U.S. Troops Suffered Brain Injuries In Iran Strike, Pentagon Says

• National: Colorado's Fatal Shootings Nearly Doubled Over The Last 5 Years. Why?

• National: 'Priceless' Bonsai Trees Stolen From Museum In Washington State

• Politics: Sanders Narrowly Wins In New Hampshire, Taking Front-Runner Mantle

• Politics: Lawmakers, Advocates Worry Bureau Won't Fill Half Million 2020 Census Jobs

• Politics: Can A Presidential Memoir Really Give An Honest Picture?

• Business: Judge Rules In Favor Of T-Mobile Takeover Of Sprint