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The Point, July 24, 2020: Jacksonville Will No Longer Host A Portion Of The RNC, Trump Says

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The top stories near you

• AP: Yoho's Confrontation with Ocasio-Cortez Leads To Democratic Women Calling Out 'Abuse From Men.' "A day after rejecting an offer of contrition from Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., who represents the Gainesville area in Congress, for his language during this week’s Capitol steps confrontation, (Rep. Alexandria) Ocasio-Cortez and more than a dozen colleagues cast the incident as all-too-common behavior by men, including (President Donald) Trump and other Republicans."

• The Alligator: The high COVID-19 positivity rate of students on UF’s website is misleading. "For more than a week, UF Health has reported that nearly 25 percent of UF students tested for COVID-19 at the UF Student Health Care Center received positive results, a number that exceeds Florida’s rate of positivity. The reality is more complicated."

• WCJB: Gainesville City Commissioners reverse course on school resource officer budget for FY 2021. "The initial decision made by Gainesville City Commissioners in early June was to make the Alachua County school district pay 100% of the cost for school resource officers in fiscal year 2021."

• WUFT News: From The Front Lines Podcast. "Florida Parents And Teachers Ask If It's Safe To Go Back To School As COVID-19 Cases Rise."

• Gainesville Sun ($): City sets racial equity plan goals. "City officials are taking steps toward improving racial equity with four goals: the formation of new task forces, resource distribution and accessibility, diverse hiring and retention efforts and meaningful engagement with marginalized groups."
• News Service of Florida: Inmate COVID-19 Toll Nears 1,000 At North Florida Prison. "Columbia Correctional Institution went from 574 cases on Wednesday to 973 on Thursday, and three inmates at the prison have died from complications of the disease during the past week, state reports show. In all, about 40 percent of the approximately 2,280 inmates at the facility near Lake City are known to have been infected with COVID-19."

• Florida Politics: UF launches Racial Justice Research Fund to support scholarship on the Black experience. "The University of Florida this week launched the Racial Justice Research Fund and staked it with $400,000 to support research and scholarships to build understanding of the Black experience, racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion."

• WUFT News: Zookeepers Long For Visitors As Gates Remain Closed. "The effect has been two-fold: diminishing quality of zookeeper education and confused zoo animals used to frequent visitors."

• CBS4: Is Alachua County prepared for a hurricane during COVID-19? "In Alachua County, officials have been preparing for this for months. They are planning to use spaces such as hotels for vulnerable populations or for those who have tested positive. They are also adjusting floor plans at shelters to social distance."


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Around the state today

• NPR News: President Trump Cancels Jacksonville Portion Of Republican National Convention. "The Jacksonville, Fla., component of the Republican National Convention has been cancelled, President Trump announced on Thursday, as cases of coronavirus continue to spike across the state."

• Sun Sentinel ($): Huge majority of Florida voters want statewide mask order; most say it’s not safe to reopen schools. "Support for a mask mandate — something Gov. Ron DeSantis has said repeatedly he won’t do — is widespread. It’s supported by voters of all age groups, both genders, across racial lines and people of differing political affiliations."

• NPR News: Florida Sets Yet Another Coronavirus Record: 173 Deaths In A Day. "Despite the record number of deaths Thursday, (Gov. Ron) DeSantis stood by earlier statements that he sees signs that coronavirus cases are plateauing in Florida."

• Tampa Bay Times ($): Frostproof scarred by killing of three friends: ‘Life here has changed forever.' "For five days, people who had never given a thought to Frostproof were looking for answers to the slaying of the three friends — not just news organizations but a breed of 'armchair investigators' using the internet and social media to infiltrate the town."

• WUWF: GSC, UWF Fall Sports Delayed. "The delay to the start of fall competition is the best one that could be made at this time, according to UWF Athletics Director Dave Scott."

• Sarasota Herald-Tribune ($): Florida deploys first mobile ICU to Winter Haven Hospital. "Lynch said he believes the mobile ICU will provide a better environment for COVID-19 patients, if needed, rather than the medical tents he has seen erected in Miami-Dade County..."

• Florida Today ($): Database calculates your risk of meeting someone with COVID-19 at Florida events. "There is a 35% chance that, if you attend an event in Leon County with 10 people — say, a dinner party — at least one of the attendees will be infected with the coronavirus, according to a new database developed by Georgia Tech University."


From NPR News

• National: U.S. Hits 4 Million Cases Of Coronavirus — Adding A Million New Cases In Just 15 Days

• National: DOJ Inspector General Investigating Federal Agents' Actions In Portland And D.C.

• National: U.S.-Canada Asylum Treaty Unconstitutional, Judge Finds, Citing 'Cruel' U.S. Behavior

• Business: Will TikTok Be Banned In The USA? It May Depend On Who Owns It

• Business: Another Bankruptcy At The Mall: Parent Company Of Ann Taylor, Loft Is Latest To Fail

• Books: Think Fantasy Is Kid Stuff? Try 'Trouble The Saints'

• Health: How Long Will Immunity To The Coronavirus Last?

About today's curator

I’m Katie Hyson, a journalist at WUFT. Originally from Lutz, Fla., I’m obsessed with true stories, creatively told. I graduated from UF with a master's degree in mass communications and am part of a team searching for local and state news each week that’s important to you. Please send feedback about today’s edition of The Point or ideas for stories we may have missed to khyson@ufl.edu.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org