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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: Census Results Expected This Month; Will Alachua County’s Arab Americans, College Students Be Accurately Counted? "Arab Americans are currently encouraged to mark themselves down as white on the census. The race question even includes Lebanese and Egyptian as examples that fit under white. The reason why, however, carries a complicated history." Listen to our podcast today to hear how this story was reported and why it matters.

• Gainesville Sun ($): Alachua County: Keep masks on. "The county still will not permit groups of 50 or more from gathering in places where they can't distance without masks — a rule that does not apply to vaccinated individuals. But commissioners added a sentence Tuesday that clarified law enforcement officials will not ask whether people have been vaccinated."

• WUFT News: ABC Airs New Crime Special About 1990 Gainesville Murders, City Representatives Respond. "Promotional content for the show was simply titled 'Gainesville,' which some say is misleading. Scott Costello, Guide to Greater Gainesville publisher, would rather label the show with a description of what happened, rather than the location."

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Around the state today

• WUSF: DeSantis Allocates $15.4 Million To Clean And Close Piney Point. "Between the governor's allocations and funding projections from the Florida Legislature, Piney Point could cost the state more than $115 million to clean up and shutdown."

• News4Jax: DeSantis, who got J&J shot, urges calm after FDA calls to pause vaccine. "Gov. Ron DeSantis, who recently received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to protect against the coronavirus, said there is no need to panic after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday they were putting the vaccine on hold to investigate unusual clots in six women."

• WMFE: Children Ages 5 To 14 Are Leading Orange County In New Coronavirus Cases. "The positivity rate for children who are 5 to 14 years old in the area is 9.6 percent."

• Spectrum News: Florida craft distillers have high hopes for new legislation. "Senate Bill 46 and its companion bill in the House would repeal a rule which only allows distillers to sell six bottles, per label, per person, per year."

• Florida Politics: Rick Scott defends Donald Trump award, says ‘people appreciate being recognized.’ "'Since I got up here, I’ve been asking, how can I recognize people,' Scott said. 'I’m a business guy and I know people appreciate being recognized.'"

• First Coast News: St. Augustine's crime rate declines to 25-year low. "The COVID-19 pandemic is one reason why the crime rate dropped so low."

• New York Times ($): Indicted Gaetz Associate Is Said to Be Cooperating With Justice Dept. "A former local official in Florida indicted in the Justice Department investigation that is also focused on Representative Matt Gaetz has been providing investigators with information since last year about an array of topics, including Mr. Gaetz’s activities, according to two people briefed on the matter."

• Orlando Weekly: Pandemic or not, Disney is hard at work on fixing Epcot. "Epcot’s overhaul is now in its third year, with multiple new projects finally greeting guests, but there’s still plenty in the works. Believed to cost more than a billion dollars, the project is the largest update to the park since its opening in 1982."

• NPR News: 'What Is That In The Sky?' Floridians Catch Meteor's Close Brush With Earth. "It wasn't a bird or a plane that gave Floridians a shock late Monday night. It wasn't even Superman. A meteor shot across the sky around 10 p.m. Monday."

From NPR News

• Health: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine And Blood Clots: What You Need To Know

• National: Brooklyn Center Police Chief And Officer Who Shot Daunte Wright Resign

• National: Defense Calls Its First Witnesses In the Derek Chauvin Trial

• World: Japan To Dump Wastewater From Wrecked Fukushima Nuclear Plant Into Pacific Ocean

• World: Biden Administration Says It Will Withdraw U.S. Troops From Afghanistan By Sept. 11

• World: Millions Flock To Hindu Festival Amid Coronavirus Spike

• Business: Consumer Prices Jumped. Should You Worry? That's Sparking A Heated Debate

• Arts & Design: 1st Century Roman Statue, Looted A Decade Ago, Found In Belgium By Off-Duty Police

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.