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Today's top Florida stories

• News Service of Florida: Florida Board Of Education Takes Aim At Alachua, Broward School Districts Over Mask Mandates. "The State Board of Education on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure on officials in two school districts who want student mask mandates with exceptions only for medical reasons, floating the possibility that district leaders who defy state directives could be removed from office."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Alachua schools: Mask rule extended eight weeks. "The decision was based on the virus' quick spread in Alachua County and the facts presented by community medical professionals and physicians who advised that the mask mandate was still needed."

• WUSF: Coronavirus Cases Increase by 21,699, Hospitalizations Grow By 870. "The number of people in Florida's hospitals with the coronavirus rose by 870 on Tuesday, bringing the total to 16,832, a new high for the state."

• Associated Press: As The Coronavirus Surges In Florida, Some Vaccine Skeptics Change Their Minds. "In this inland area of Nassau County, sandwiched between Jacksonville and the Okefenokee Swamp at the Georgia-Florida line, a devastating resurgence of the coronavirus is making even some die-hard vaccine skeptics reconsider the shots."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua public works to lobby for more water pumps. "The county currently owns nine pumps, rents two and has two on loan from the St. Johns River Water Management District."

• Florida Politics: Marco Rubio breaks with Rick Scott over suggestion of removing Joe Biden from office. "In Jacksonville Tuesday, Sen. Marco Rubio would not sign on to Sen. Rick Scott‘s urging of the invocation of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would remove Biden and replace him with Vice President Kamala Harris. 'Yeah, I don’t foresee that happening,' Rubio told Florida Politics."

• Associated Press: Tim Tebow’s Comeback Story Ends With Jaguars Cutting Him. "Coach Urban Meyer, who recruited Tebow to the nearby University of Florida and gave him another NFL chance, addressed his decision after practice. 'We knew that was an uphill battle for Tim,' Meyer said. 'Players loved him, locker room loved him, but it was the right thing (to do).'"

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From NPR News

• Health: COVID Booster Shots Could Be Out For The Public By Fall. Here's How It Would Work

• National: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Tests Positive For The Coronavirus

• Science: Outdoor Workers Could Face Far More Dangerous Heat By 2065 Because Of Climate Change

• Education: Students Are Moving Onto Campus — Can Colleges Pull It Off Without A COVID Disaster?

• World: The Simple Steps You Can Take Right Now To Help Afghan Refugees

• World: A Cat Led A Rescue Team To An 83-Year-Old Woman Who Had Fallen Down A Ravine

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.