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Today's Florida stories
• NPR News: Can a teen be too immature to choose abortion? This court case shows the complexities. "A Florida court effectively blocked a pregnant, parentless 16-year-old from getting an abortion, saying she is not mature enough to make that decision despite her own acknowledgment that 'she is not ready for the emotional, physical, or financial responsibility of raising a child.'"
• WFSU-Tallahassee: A federal judge blocks part of Florida's 'STOP WOKE' Act on the grounds it violates business free speech rights. "The ruling blocked part of the law targeting businesses on the basis that the law’s language 'attacks ideas, not conduct.' The state has defended the law by saying it doesn’t prevent businesses from conducting such training, which often falls under the banner of diversity, equity, and inclusion."
• Ocala Gazette: School board revises faulty policy that barred 18- to 20-year-olds from substitute teaching. "After hearing from young people who have served as substitute teachers in Marion schools, the board on Aug. 9 passed a resolution ensuring anyone with the proper qualifications can teach in the new school year, as long as they are at least 18."
• Florida Politics: Gov. DeSantis announces charges against 20 voter fraud suspects. "The suspects are felons who had previously been convicted of murder or sexual assault and had their right to vote removed, DeSantis told reporters in Broward County, a battleground in years of the state’s fight over election integrity."
• WMFE-Orlando: Mary McLeod Bethune makes the long journey home to Florida with new Daytona Beach statue. "A new statue of Mary McLeod Bethune was unveiled Thursday in Daytona Beach, just weeks after an identical sculpture was displayed in the U.S. Capitol."
• NPR News: How inflation may influence voters in a Florida swing district. "Voters in an important swing district in (Pinellas County) are grappling with soaring costs for housing and food. What could these frustrations mean for November midterm elections?"
• Spectrum News: Property insurance a top issue for Florida voters. "According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), Florida has accounted for 79% of the nation’s homeowner’s insurance lawsuits over claims filed, while making up only 9% of the nation’s homeowner’s insurance claims."
• Associated Press: Man in Ocala is one of three charged in 2018 killing of Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger. "The Justice Department announced the indictments against Fotios 'Freddy' Geas, 55; Paul J. DeCologero, 48; and Sean McKinnon, 36, on Thursday. The FBI Jacksonville office announced on Twitter that McKinnon, of Ocala, was arrested with assistance from the Ocala Police Department and Marion County Sheriff’s Office."
• WFLA-Tampa: ‘We’re way OK with saying gay’: North Dakota school district recruiting Florida teachers. "A North Dakota school district issued a letter showing support for Florida educators in the wake of HB 1577, or the so-called 'Don’t Say Gay' bill, extending an invitation to move up north and join them."
• Florida Times-Union ($): Yes, you can still go to a drive-in movie in Florida. Here's where. "New screens opened in Jacksonville, Miami and Fort Pierce during the pandemic years, even as others turned off their projectors for good. There are still at least seven drive-ins operating in the Sunshine State, plus two in South Florida that are 'temporarily closed.'"
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From NPR News
• Climate: Federal judges deal the oil industry another setback in climate litigation
• Science: Mosquitoes surprise researcher with their 'weird' sense of smell
• Business: Streaming outperforms both cable and broadcast TV for the first time ever
• National: Judge creates path for releasing redacted affidavit from Mar-a-Lago search
• National: Allen Weisselberg, a Trump Org employee for decades, pleads guilty to felony charges
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.