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The top stories near you

• Florida Politics: University leaders to students: Please come back vaccinated. "In a letter signed by all 12 university presidents, the State University System urged students to arrive vaccinated. Doing so, the letter says, will protect students and prevent disruptions."

• WCJB: Alachua County mask mandate unlikely after new CDC guidance. “The county commission will be meeting next week to look at the latest data, follow the science,” (Alachua County Commissioner Ken) Cornell said. “We’ve been following the recommendations of the University of Florida. Unfortunately with regards to masks mandates the legislature has taken away a lot of our powers.”

• Associated Press: Inside A KKK Murder Plot In Florida: Grab Him Up, Take Him To The River. "It was 11:30 a.m. on March 19, 2015, and the klansmen were celebrating what they thought was a successful murder in Florida. But the FBI had gotten wind of the murder plot. A confidential informant had infiltrated the group, and his recordings provide a rare, detailed look at the inner workings of a modern klan cell and a domestic terrorism probe." Listen to our podcast today to hear more about the reporting that went into this story.

• Mainstreet Daily News: Newberry keeps pace with Gainesville annexations. "In prior meetings from April to July, the commission approved the annexation of eight parcels ranging in size from just two acres up to 311 acres. The parcels were added to the city at the request of mostly residential developers and private citizens, who often then rezoned the newly annexed properties from agricultural to residential or planned development to accommodate new housing projects ranging from a few duplexes to some 1,400 residential units."

• ESPN: Florida Gators, UCF Knights agree to 3-game football series beginning in 2024. "The Gators will host the Knights in Gainesville on Oct. 5, 2024, travel to Orlando on Sept. 14, 2030, and then host UCF again on Sept. 3, 2033."

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Around the state today

• News4Jax: New data show number of people becoming hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida getting worse. "Emergency rooms and ICU beds at local hospitals are filling up, and now, a well-known Jacksonville immunologist is calling on the governor to declare a state of emergency."

• News Service of Florida: Gov. DeSantis, Allies Discuss Opposition To Masks In Schools In Closed-Door Meeting. "Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly held a roundtable discussion Monday at the Capitol that focused on opposition to mask mandates in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, with DeSantis’ office not giving prior public notice and excluding reporters."

• WFLA-Tampa: Ag. Commissioner Nikki Fried suspends concealed weapons licenses for 22 Florida Capitol rioters. "The statement from Fried’s office said more suspensions and revocations may be on the table as charges and sentences continue following the Jan. 6 riots and further investigation by federal authorities."

• WFLA-Tampa: Piney Point clean-up cost nearly $46 million and counting. "From the middle of July to the day in late March when a gaping crevice opened up at the bottom of Piney Point’s south stack, the state has spent nearly $46 million at the long-defunct phosphogypsum facility, according to records released by the state."

• Miami Herald ($): Feds serve Florida search warrants related to assassination of Haiti’s President Moïse. "Teams of FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agents zeroed in on five locations in Doral, Westchester and Weston in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to gather financial records and other documents as part of a federal investigation into whether they knowingly played a supportive role in Moïse’s death at his home on July 7."

• New York Times ($): He Tried to Walk on Water From Florida to New York. It Didn’t Go So Well. "Reza Baluchi washed ashore on Saturday near St. Augustine, Fla., in a 'hydro pod,' startling beachgoers with a homemade contraption that resembles a hamster wheel."

From NPR News

• Health: CDC Urges Vaccinated People To Mask Up Indoors In Places With High Virus Transmission

• National: Biden Is Considering A Vaccine Or Testing Mandate For Federal Workers

• National: 'This Is How I'm Going To Die': Police Sergeant Recalls The Terror Of Jan. 6

• National: Here Are The 9 Lawmakers Investigating The Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

• National: The Justice Department Is Struggling To Bring Capitol Riot Cases To Trial: Here's Why

• National: Who Will Pay To Protect Tech Giants From Rising Seas?

• National: A Man Accused Of Killing 8 In Atlanta Area Spa Shootings Pleads Guilty To 4 Deaths

• World: Simone Biles Says She Pulled Out Of Gymnastics Finals Due To Mental Health Concerns

• World: Katie Ledecky Wins Her 1st Gold In Tokyo And Reflects On The Pressure Athletes Face

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.