WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • News Service of Florida: Redistricting appeal could go on fast track to Florida Supreme Court. “A state appeal has put on hold a circuit judge’s ruling that a congressional redistricting plan violated …
Read More »Hurricane, shooting test DeSantis leadership as he trades the campaign trail for crisis management
First a shooting, then a storm. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a one-two punch testing his leadership at a critical moment for his presidential campaign, with the Republican moving to cast aside his role as culture warrior and show the country that he can govern through crises. His first …
Read More »Clay County Commissioner Kristen Burke offers her voice to Russell Landing contamination concerns
GREEN COVE SPRINGS — Eighteen years ago, on their way to church on Sunday mornings, Kristen Burke and her husband would go out of their way to drive through a neighborhood called Russell Landing to admire the houses perched on rolling green lawns. Located about 50 miles northeast of Gainesville …
Read More »The Point, Aug. 3, 2023: School year prep, COVID rising, a woman cooks free meals
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: Need-to-know: Be prepared for the upcoming 2023-24 school year. “The start of a new school year is just around the corner, and the tax-free week on buying school supplies in …
Read More »The Point, July 27, 2023: Gainesville Police Advisory Council reviews internal investigations
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: Gainesville Police Advisory Council reviews 9 internal investigation reports. “Two investigations resulted in officer suspensions of over a week. One case stemmed from a K9 attack on a Gainesville man.” …
Read More »The Point, June 1, 2023: Voter system breach exposes 58,000 people’s information
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: Alachua County student competes in Scripps National Spelling Bee. “Martin made it through to the semifinals on Wednesday afternoon, where he spelled the word “molasse” incorrectly. He is the first …
Read More »Behind the scenes of Florida’s efforts to purge schools of books deemed improper
CLEARWATER, Fla. – With a scanner like ones used at grocery stores plugged into her computer, Paula Stephens spent her 30-minute planning period scanning two boxes of books from her classroom library. Those two green boxes had roughly 55 books, and her first-grade classroom at Eisenhower Elementary has about 40 …
Read More »Plans for new solar farm generate heat among Newberry residents
After visiting Newberry all her life, Monica Lerew permanently moved to her 10-acre property three years ago excited to live in the peaceful countryside. But this peace is now being threatened as plans for a new solar farm are in place. For generations, Lerew’s family has owned 750 acres of …
Read More »Florida emergency managers explain what went wrong to cause early morning alert
Many Floridians were awakened Thursday at 4:45 a.m. when the state activated its emergency alert system. At 2:30 p.m., the Florida Division of Emergency Management offered this explanation in a press release: Emergency alert testing directives originate from the federal government. This morning’s test was supposed to be a test …
Read More »SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight Thursday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of …
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