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Today's top Florida stories
• News Service of Florida: A federal appeals court rejected the lawsuit seeking to remove the Rodman Dam. "The case was another chapter in a battle rooted in the construction of the dam — also known as the Kirkpatrick Dam — and the reservoir as part of the long-abandoned Cross Florida Barge Canal project. Work started in the 1960s on the project, which was planned to create a barge canal from Northeast Florida to Yankeetown on the Gulf Coast and included damming the Ocklawaha River. The federal government halted the project in 1971, with the dam and reservoir remaining."
• WUFT News: Suwannee County schools ran less than half of fire drills required by state law. "The audit revealed the school district ran a documented 59% of required active shooter and hostage situation drills, and only 40% of required fire drills."
• Spectrum News: Top Republican in the Florida Senate criticizes surgeon general's conduct. "'It shouldn’t take a cancer diagnosis for people to respect each other’s level of comfort with social interactions during a pandemic,' Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) wrote in the memo, which was issued Saturday and has been circulated by legislators."
• WUFT News: See the data: FDOH, CDC release new vaccination, community transmission rates. "Nearly 14 million Floridians, or 73% of the state’s population, are vaccinated, according to the weekly COVID-19 situation report from the Florida Department of Health. These data summarize Florida residents ages 12 and older who have completed all required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Florida ties for highest gas jump nationwide. "Florida’s average stands at $3.31 a gallon with Alachua, Bradford and Levy counties coming in a cent higher. Nationwide, Florida still remains below the $3.38 average, a six cent increase from last week. California takes gold with $4.54 a gallon while Pennsylvania rounds off the top ten list with $3.56."
• Orlando Sentinel ($): Newly seated jury hears opening statements in Markeith Loyd murder trial. "Loyd, 46, faces the possibility of being sentenced to death if a jury finds him guilty of first-degree murder in Clayton’s death. Prosecutors say he fatally shot (Orlando police Lt. Debra) Clayton Jan. 9, 2017, at a Walmart on Princeton Street after she tried to arrest him for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon."
• News Service of Florida: The Biden administration tells Florida to 'reconsider your threatened actions' against school boards. "Ian Rosenblum, deputy assistant secretary for policy and programs for the U.S. Department of Education, sent a letter Monday to state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to try to stave off an attempt to prevent federal grant funds from making up state money lost by the school boards."
• News4Jax: Jacksonville welcomes Florida-Georgia fans ahead of Saturday’s matchup. "Kickoff for the Florida-Georgia game isn’t until Saturday but hard-core fans are already lining up around the stadium getting, ready for the parking lot known as RV City to open on Tuesday."
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From NPR News
• Climate: Greenhouse gas levels reached record highs in 2020, even with pandemic lockdowns
• Health: ERs are now swamped with seriously ill patients — but most don't even have COVID
• Health: Puerto Rico is the most vaccinated place in the U.S.
• National: Biden issues new rules for international travelers
• National: Hate on trial in Virginia, four years after deadly extremist rally
• World: Sikh men created a lifeline using turbans and jackets to rescue hikers at a park
• Science: If NASA green lights this interstellar mission, it could last 100 years
• Business: Blue Origin says it will build an orbiting mixed-use business park in space
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.