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Today's top Florida stories

• WUFT News: What will replace the FSA? Florida educators hope it's less punitive. "The assessment’s replacement will be a continuous monitoring system where progress is tracked throughout the school year and results can inform the rest of the semester’s teaching, DeSantis said."

• Associated Press: Florida is suing Biden over the vaccine mandate for federal contractors. "The lawsuit, announced by DeSantis at a news conference, alleges the president doesn't have the authority to issue the rule and that it violates procurement law."

• Gainesville Sun ($): UF researchers modeled COVID-19 cases for the second pandemic winter. Here’s what to know. “According to the EPI models, daily and weekly reported COVID-19 cases in Florida in November, December and January are projected to reach low levels similar to the state's numbers in May and June."

• Miami Herald ($): ‘I’m so proud of the governor.’ FL Republicans back DeSantis’ anti-vaccine mandate push. "The lawmakers on hand at a press conference organized by Gainesville Republican U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack railed against President Joe Biden and upcoming vaccine mandates for federal employees, federal contractors and private businesses that employ more than 100 people."

• WUFT News: Citrus County Animal Services changes county rules around vaccination, sterilization and more. “One of the bigger changes is the usage of the staff veterinarian to sterilize any runaways who are not yet fixed and whose owners do not have what is known as an unaltered pet license."

• USA Today Network ($): DeSantis mega-donor, UF Board of Trustees chair supplied Ladapo's resume, fast-tracking surgeon general's hire. "Dr. David Nelson in turn forwarded the Sept. 1 email with (Joseph) Ladapo's resume attached to the dean of the College of Medicine and the associate vice president for research affairs, kicking off a fast-track hiring process for Ladapo to coincide with the governor’s announcement that he was appointing the UCLA professor as his new surgeon general."

• Spectrum News: ‘We need a change’ records show Black students suspended at higher rate in Polk County. “Current records show that 11,998 students were suspended in Polk County last year. Black students are still at the top of that list with in-school suspensions, short-term suspensions and expulsions from school."

• WFLA-Tampa: Child predators among 102 arrested in Polk County human trafficking sting, Sheriff Grady Judd says. “The sheriff’s office said 38 of the suspects were arrested for prostitution and 62 others were arrested for soliciting prostitutes."

• WINK-Fort Myers: Why Florida gas prices are at a 7-year high. “It’s really all down to supply and demand: Production of fuel worldwide is down and people still want to fill up more than ever.”

• WUFT News: UFPD discusses taser protocols, cases of accidental deployment. “Since 2017, there have been five instances of accidental taser deployment. All mishaps happened during officers daily preparations inside the department building.”

• WFTS-Tampa: Experts encourage people to start holiday shopping early as supply issues will likely worsen. “Those issues include labor shortages, transportation problems, logistics costs like higher fuel prices, and many people in the supply chain industry haven’t returned to work yet.”

• Associated Press: Amid scandal, Quenneville resigns as Florida Panthers coach. "The announcement was made shortly after Quenneville met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in New York to discuss his role in what happened in Chicago during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, when a player named Kyle Beach said he was sexually assaulted by then-Blackhawks assistant Brad Aldrich."

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From NPR News

• Politics: Biden unveils a smaller spending framework. Now he has to sell it to House Democrats

• Politics: Oil companies face ‘big tobacco moment’ in Congress over their climate policies

• Politics: Texas lawmaker launches inquiry into 850 books dealing with race and sexuality

• World: Here’s who Biden will meet with when he goes to Rome and Glasgow this week

• Race: Families in Charleston church massacre reach $88M settlement with DOJ

• Business: Starbucks and Costco raising wages in the nationwide competition for workers

• Health: State attorneys general issue a warning for Halloween about marijuana-type treats

• National: NYC firefighters protest at the mayor's home over vaccine rules

About today's curator

I'm Mikayla Carroll, a journalist at WUFT. Originally from West Palm Beach, I'm eager to share the top stories in my home state. I am a senior journalism major and am part of a team searching for local and state news each week that's important to you. Please send feedback about today's edition of The Point or ideas for stories we may have missed to mikaylacarroll@ufl.edu.