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• WUFT News: Florida counties prepare for Hurricane Idalia. "Hurricane Idalia is expected to strengthen and make landfall somewhere on the Gulf Coast by Wednesday. Here’s how counties in Florida are preparing for the storm."
• Florida Storms: Find your county: Watches, warnings, evacuations and closures ahead of Idalia. "Current watches, warnings, evacuations and closures for Florida counties as Idalia closes in."
• Florida Politics: UF cancels classes most of Tuesday, all of Wednesday. "University officials announced it will close the campus beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 29 and continuing through Wednesday. Aug. 30. That means in addition to classes, there will be no student activities during that time. Online classes are also canceled."
• Associated Press: Florida football team alters its travel plans with Idalia approaching the state. "A team spokesman said Monday that the Gators will practice in Gainesville on Tuesday, fly to Dallas and spend the night there, and then travel to Salt Lake City on Wednesday."
• WUFT News: Vehicle fire near Pugh Hall briefly closes Buckman and Fletcher drives Monday. "Buckman Drive and Fletcher Drive were temporarily closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic Monday while firefighters with Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to the scene of a van that caught fire near Pugh Hall at around 1:30 p.m."
• Ocala Gazette: UPDATE: OPD officer remains hospitalized following double traffic crashes. "An Ocala Police Department (OPD) sergeant injured in a head-on collision with a driver who was fleeing after fatally striking a pedestrian the night of Aug. 26 in southwest Ocala has been released from intensive care but remains hospitalized."
• The Alligator: Swamp Kings inspires current players, leaves viewers wanting more. "The new Netflix docuseries 'Untold: Swamp Kings' follows Florida’s championship football team under head coach Urban Meyer from 2005 to 2010."
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Around the state
• WMFE-Orlando: As a hurricane approaches, here are common mistakes you should avoid. "Orange County has some advice for new Florida residents who might fall into making common mistakes in preparation for a storm and the clean-up after."
• News Service of Florida: Some Florida tolls are being lifted to help aid Idalia evacuations. "Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he’s directed the Department of Transportation to stop collecting tolls in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Pasco, Pinellas and Sumter counties."
• Associated Press: Florida prays Idalia won't join a long list of destructive storms with names starting with 'I.' "Since 1955, 13 Atlantic storm names beginning with 'I' have been retired, according to the National Weather Service. That happens when a storm’s death toll or destruction is so severe that using its name again would be insensitive."
• WUSF-Tampa: Demand for gas in Florida ahead of Idalia could lead to a shortage, but it would be temporary. "We speak with a AAA Auto Club spokesperson about current gas prices and potential fuel hoarding ahead of a storm. Plus, Florida's ag and consumer services commissioner gives an update on the contaminated gas which came out of Port Tampa this weekend."
• NPR: 'You're not welcome here!' DeSantis booed at vigil for Jacksonville shooting victims. "DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, and his wife were among those who gathered in Jacksonville's Grand Park neighborhood to commemorate the victims of the Saturday shooting. But not everyone was pleased that the governor was there."
• Florida Politics: The cost of inflation: Survey shows Floridians buy, eat less food due to rising food prices. "The survey showed more than half of Floridians have modified their eating habits in at least some way to accommodate higher grocery prices, with low-income families disproportionately affected by those financial decisions."
• WMFE-Orlando: Two Florida women at the March on Washington 60 years ago share their stories. "Two Central Florida women who were part of that march agreed to share their stories."
• WGCU-Fort Myers: Dispatch from Kimberly's Reef: The Artificial Reef Finally Becomes Reality. "Weather dictates much of what people are able to do outside in Florida. Storm events, like Hurricane Ian, obviously halt business as usual. But even an off-shore breeze can prevent a job on the water from getting done. That was the next hurdle when it came to deploying FGCU’s newest artificial reef complex in the Gulf of Mexico."
From NPR News
• Law: Judge sets March 4, 2024, as Trump trial date in election interference case
• Sports: With her her 8th U.S. Championship win, Simone Biles is still the gymnastics GOAT
• Health: Distrust undermined the U.S. pandemic response. Now, it continues to erode healthcare
• Health: Medicaid warns 5 states that they've made it too hard for residents to keep coverage
• National: There's a labor shortage in the U.S. Why is it so hard for migrants to legally work?
• Business: U.S. fines American Airlines for dozens of long tarmac delays
• Technology: Anonymous protestors immobilize driverless cars using traffic cones
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.