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Today's top Florida stories
• WUFT News: Gainesville Doesn’t Meet Criteria To Be Certified As ‘Welcoming City’ To Immigrants. Two Proposals Could Help Change That. "The process is rigorous and the standards are high to be certified. Welcoming America identified seven categories critical to building a welcoming community: government leadership, equitable access, civic engagement, connected communities, education, economic development and safe communities. The criteria provide a roadmap for cities like Gainesville that want to be welcoming to immigrants but may not know how." Listen to our podcast today for more about this story.
• The Alligator: UF alumni identified from the Surfside Champlain Towers South Condominium. "Three University of Florida alumni were recovered and identified from the rubble of the Surfside Champlain Towers South condominium after it partially collapsed on June 24."
• Associated Press: Capitol Rioter From Tampa Who Breached Senate Gets 8 Months For Felony. "Paul Allard Hodgkins apologized and said he was ashamed of his actions on Jan 6. Speaking calmly from a prepared text, he described being caught up in the euphoria as he walked down Washington’s most famous avenue, then followed a crowd of hundreds up Capitol Hill and into the Capitol building."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Another drive-by shooting hits East Gainesville. "For the second night in a row, a drive-by shooting in East Gainesville left multiple people injured. According to the Gainesville Police Department (GPD), the shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. Monday night in the 1200 block of SE 19th Terrace, which is in the Lincoln Estates neighborhood."
• Associated Press: Florida Rep. Buchanan Positive For COVID Despite Vaccine. "The Republican congressman’s announcement came as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said a 'seasonal pattern' affecting mainly Sun Belt states is largely to blame for a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state."
• WFTS-Tampa Bay: Three employee suicides in 10 months prompted a Florida school district to act. "For the Okeechobee County School District, the passing of three staff members within a 10-month period was enough to inspire a new focus on the overall mental health and well-being of its staff, not just its students."
• WFLA-Tampa Bay: USF president Steven Currall to retire after 2 years, cites strain on health & family. "During Currall’s term as the university’s president, USF consolidated its three campuses into a single-accredited university. USF also made it into the top 50 public universities on U.S. News and World Report’s rankings for the first time in its history."
• Florida Storms: A Rainier Pattern Returns to Florida This Week. "Deeper moisture is back on the move into Florida this week, making way for numerous thunderstorms to replace the recent stretch of drier weather over the next few days across most of the state."
• WMFE: DeSantis Signs Legislation To Boost Florida Wildlife Corridor. "The measure is aimed at protecting fragile watersheds and imperiled species like the Florida panther by preventing the fragmentation of natural lands."
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From NPR News
• Health: The Life Cycle Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Lie
• Science: New Analysis Reveals Fresh Clues About The Origins Of COVID-19
• Business: Stocks Sink And Yields Tumble As COVID-19 Fears Circle The World
• World: England Has Lifted Most Of Its COVID-19 Restrictions, Even As U.K. Cases Are Up 41%
• Space: Jeff Bezos And Blue Origin Will Try To Travel Deeper Into Space Than Richard Branson
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.