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The stories near you
• WUFT News Special Report: Behind the bet: Stories of illegal sports betting on the University of Florida’s campus. "For this three-part series, Alexis Ashby of WUFT News talked with betters, bookies and experts to understand why and how sports betting is so prevalent on college campuses."
Mainstreet Daily News: GNV, BOCC declare traffic violence crisis. "Mayor Harvey Ward brought up three pedestrian and bicyclist deaths in the past three weeks. While engineering has dominated past discussions, Ward said the city can only advocate for change along state roads like University Avenue, 13th Street and NW 39th Avenue."
• The Alligator: LGBTQ-owned Micanopy business forced out by commissioner, owner alleges. "Shortly after moving in, their landlord received a letter from the town commission deeming the Pride flag they’d displayed on their store as a zoning issue and requested its removal. Despite neighboring businesses flying American and “Police Lives Matter” flags, they complied with the ordinance."
• WCJB: Alachua County conducts annual count of homeless population. "'We pick one night a year, usually the end of January, and we have tons of volunteers come out and help us really gauge what the population is right now in our community,' said organizer Patrick Dodds."
• The Alligator: Pandemic learning losses lead to reading struggles. "Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced students and teachers into remote learning, data shows more students are struggling to read and comprehend grade-level texts in Florida due to instructional gaps."
• Florida Politics: UF repeats as No. 1 in U.S. News online bachelor’s rankings. "The rankings organization also named UF as the country’s No. 1 university for veterans and active-duty service members to earn an online bachelor’s degree."
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Around the state
• News Service of Florida: Justices ask for input in cases involving social media laws in Florida and Texas. "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday called on the U.S. solicitor general to file briefs about the federal government’s position in two high-profile cases about efforts by Florida and Texas to crack down on major social-media companies such as Facebook and Twitter."
• Florida Politics: Could there be bipartisan support for changes to Florida’s death penalty laws? "Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wants to scrap the requirement that a jury must unanimously recommend the death penalty before a judge can impose it. And the Governor’s suggestion could have bipartisan support."
• Tampa Bay Times ($): Florida Supreme Court declines to temporarily stop 15-week abortion law. "Justices, in a 4-1 decision, turned down a motion by seven abortion clinics and a doctor for a stay of a ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeal that kept the law in place. The one-paragraph decision did not detail the Supreme Court’s reasoning."
• NPR: Florida's AP African American studies ban should raise alarm elsewhere, lawmaker says. "(State Sen. Shevrin Jones) told Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep that Florida is 'just the testing ground.'"
• Florida Politics: Proposal would expand Bright Futures Scholarship eligibility. "New legislation would add Pre-Advanced Placement to the coursework that gets special consideration in awarding Bright Futures Scholarships and would elevate the prestige of taking a particular track of Advanced Placement courses in considering a students’ eligibility for Bright Futures."
• NPR: Disney World's Splash Mountain runs dry, as the iconic ride closes for good. "Fans had one final run down Splash Mountain in Florida's Disney World on Sunday, before it closed for good. It had been in operation since 1992."
• WGCU-Fort Myers: Fake 'Queen of Soul' caused a stir at Dunbar night club in 1969. "The woman belting out some of the most popular songs of the time looked like Franklin, dressed like Franklin and sounded like Franklin ... but she wasn’t Franklin."
From NPR News
• National: A gunman killed 7 people in shootings in Half Moon Bay, California
• National: The suspected Monterey Park attacker was 72. Here's why older shooters are rare
• Elections: A Georgia judge weighs release of a grand jury report into 2020 election interference
• Economy: A recession might be coming. Here's what it could look like
• Law: A former high-level FBI agent faces charges for aiding a sanctioned Russian oligarch
• National: An Alabama farmer secretly helped strangers pay their pharmacy bills
• Culture: The real-life refugees of 'Casablanca' make it so much more than a love story
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.