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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: Saying Goodbye To The ‘Gator Bait’ Cheer: UF Will Drop Phrase With Ties To ‘Horrific Historic Racist Imagery’. "University of Florida President Kent Fuchs announced in an email Thursday afternoon a lengthy list of changes the school will be enacting as part of its effort to address racism and inequity including the discontinuation of the "Gator Bait" cheer at UF sporting events."

• WUFT News: Alachua County Farm Spikes Rise In COVID-19 Cases, State Climbs in Record Numbers. "When asked for comment, the county manager’s office said there is no need to worry about food supply lines — it is currently believed that there is no link between produce and the spread of the virus."

• WUFT News: From The Front Lines Podcast. "How Florida's second-largest industry — agriculture — is faring during the pandemic."

• Gilchrist County Journal: Watermelon Field Intentionally Killed. "Gilchrist County Farmer loses approximately $400,000 worth of melons, in an Alachua field, after someone adds herbicides to his sprayer."

• WCJB: Gainesville City Commission wants mugshots and 'perp walks' done away with. "The practice of posting mug shots of people arrested by law enforcement in Gainesville may soon come to an end."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Free Fridays leaves plaza, comes right into your home. "Concert series, long based at Bo Diddley Plaza, has a new platform as coronavirus halts large gatherings."

• Citrus County Chronicle: 500 pounds of redfish fillets headed to struggling families. "Scores of Citrus Countians are either laid off or facing economic hardships from the coronavirus economic lockdown."

• Hernando County and Levy County voters: Do you know where and how to register to vote? What is your voting precinct? Who will you see on the ballot? Here is everything you need to know about your local primary election on Aug. 18. (WUFT News)

• Citrus County Chronicle: School board member Thomas Kennedy elected vice president of Florida School Boards Association. "School board members statewide have a familiar face as one of its leaders."

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Around the state today

• Florida Politics: Florida reports 3,000 new COVID cases in 24 hours for the first time. "Overall, the Department of Health (DOH) has reported a 85,926 cases throughout the pandemic with new cases on the rise again this month. Officials reported 44 fatalities since Wednesday’s report, raising the death toll to 3,154, including 93 non-Floridians who have died in the state."

• WUSF: Updated National Model Points To Florida As The Next COVID-19 Epicenter. "Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill said the increase in cases is not a surprise, but the change in demographic — from the elderly to young adults — is. In recent days, the average age for positive coronavirus cases has dropped from over 65 to between 25 and 34."

• Palm Beach Post ($): Florida teacher fired after 18,000 grades were changed. '"In his mind he’s helping kids," former principal Mary Stratos said. Instead, she said, he was hurting them."

• WTSP: Unvaccinated and Exposed: Florida sees a dramatic decline in the number of children getting vaccinated. "Doctors are concerned about new outbreaks of diseases we haven’t seen in years."

• WLRN: DeSantis Points to Farm Workers As Florida's COVID-19 Numbers Spike. "Florida's positive COVID-19 cases continue to spike, and at a press conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis listed some reasons — like more testing of inmates — of employees and residents of long-term care facilities and also asymptomatic employees at their workplaces. He also cited other groups leading to more positive tests."

• WTSP: Nearly 2 years after his murder, 'Jordan's Law' signed by Gov. DeSantis. "The law will go into effect on July 1."

• TCPalm ($): Investigation ongoing into defendant allegedly left 7 hours in police car. "Police are conducting an internal affairs investigation of an incident during which a defendant allegedly was left handcuffed in a police car more than seven hours, according to records and a police spokesman."

• News Service of Florida: State Seeks To Put Felons’ Voting Ruling On Hold. "Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking a federal appeals court to put on hold a ruling that would pave the way for hundreds of thousands of Floridians who have been convicted of felonies to register and vote in November, arguing the decision could “corrupt” the integrity of the state’s elections."

• Sun Sentinel ($): Mission to sail around the world ends with champagne celebration. "Eric Bihl and Kennon Jones left Fort Lauderdale about two and half years ago to sail around the world. On Thursday, they returned triumphant."

From NPR News

• National: Confederate Speaker Portraits To Be Removed From The U.S. Capitol On Juneteenth

• National: Georgia Marching Band Drops Song From 'Gone With The Wind' For 'Georgia On My Mind'

• World: The State Of The U.S.-China Relations After The Pandemic

• Politics: The Supreme Court Overrules The Trump Administration's Decision To Rescind DACA

• Race: What It Is Like To Be A Black Police Officer

• Race: Officers Charged In Rayshard Brooks' Death Turn Themselves In

• Health: A Scientist's Pink Cast Leads To Discovery About How The Brain Responds To Disability