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The Point, July 18, 2022: Sentencing trial for Parkland shooter begins this week

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The stories near you

• The Alligator: Residents protest police brutality after K-9 injured Gainesville man. "Chants for justice filled the air Sunday evening as protestors lined downtown Gainesville to protest the police K-9 mauling of Terrell Bradley July 10. About 200 people gathered at the Santa Fe Blount Center, located at 401 NW 6th St., to demonstrate their anger and demand change after a Gainesville Police Department K-9 allegedly mutilated Bradley’s eye. Bradley, a 30-year-old Gainesville resident, faces charges from Alachua County for weapon and drug possession and violent resistance of an officer."

• Gainesville Sun ($): An uptick of behavioral issues and lack of punishment has teachers, parents frustrated. "Carmen Ward, president of the Alachua County Education Association, says that 90% of teacher resignations last year were due to student behavioral issues."

• News4Jax: Gators QB Anthony Richardson drops ‘AR-15′ nickname, citing recent mass shootings. "The 21-year-old quarterback, who is expected to become the starting quarterback for the team this fall, said he also plans to rebrand a clothing line that used his now-former nickname."

• WUFT News: UF student approaches major milestone at the start of a decade-long running journey. "Nineteen-year-old Reece Navarro is a dual mechanical and aerospace engineering major at the University of Florida. He’s also a musician who performs in local groups, including the Gator Marching Band. However, his friends know him for a mission he set for himself back on January 1, 2020 – to run every day for a decade."


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Around the state

• NPR News: The Parkland school shooter faces the death penalty as his trial begins. "The sentencing trial for the gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., more than four years ago is set to begin on Monday. After nearly three months of jury selection, jurors must decide whether Nikolas Cruz, 23, gets a life sentence in prison or is put to death. He has already pleaded guilty to all charges."

• Palm Beach Post ($): COVID-19 is on the rise again in Florida, fueled by omicron BA.5 subvariant. "Hospitalizations and case counts have grown so much that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends indoor masking in almost every part of Florida to prevent strain on local medical facilities."

• News Service of Florida: Manatee deaths are down from last year, but still above the five-year average. "During the past winter, wildlife officials undertook a highly unusual supplemental feeding effort that provided lettuce to manatees, which were starving along Florida’s east coast. The starvation was caused by poor water quality and algae blooms that depleted seagrass beds in prime foraging areas in the Indian River Lagoon."

• Politico: ‘Nobody is coming to save us’: Florida Dems struggle ahead of August primary. "Florida Democrats were publicly optimistic during their three-day convention in Tampa this weekend. They danced late into the night, roared at jokes about Republicans and swapped stories and drinks at various bars. Privately, however, there was a sense of fatalism among state Democrats, who are heading into the 2022 midterms with an unpopular president, the highest inflation in 40 years and incumbents such as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis raking in millions and seeming unstoppable."

• News Service of Florida: A federal judge has shielded Florida's former education commissioner in a case against 'intellectual freedom’ surveys. "Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a five-page order Thursday granting a request for a protective order to prevent a deposition of (Richard) Corcoran in the lawsuit filed by the United Faculty of Florida union and other plaintiffs."


From NPR News

• Science: The James Webb telescope had 344 'single point failures' before launch. Then, success

• Health: Calling 988 in the U.S. will now get you help for a mental health crisis

• Health: Global vaccination coverage continued to plunge in 2021, according to a new report

• World: Parts of the U.S. and Europe are bracing for some of their hottest temperatures yet

• National: Tops grocery store in Buffalo reopens to mixed reactions after mass shooting

• National: What the subpoena for the Secret Service's erased texts means for the Jan. 6 probe

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.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org