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• WUFT News: ‘If I messed up, I wish I’d messed up after the year was over’: Third grade teacher accused of DUI, drug possession responds to charges. "Correa, who spoke to WUFT News late Monday night, characterized himself as a good teacher. None of his students have been held back, he said. His current students sent him multiple emails asking about his absence Monday — he was not able to respond to them to explain, he said, as the Alachua County School Board placed him on paid administrative leave."

• WRUF: Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin Addresses Fan Questions and Concerns. "Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin joined Steve Russell on Sportscene on Monday. He answered questions and concerns proposed by Gators fans around the nation."

• Mainstreet Daily News: School Board of Alachua County to cast final rezoning vote on Thursday. "The proposed maps on which the board will vote Thursday still leave four elementary schools and one high school more than 100% capacity, though that is an improvement over the current five elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools over capacity."

• The Alligator: UF President Ben Sasse names Scott Angle permanent UF provost. "Angle has served as interim provost since June 2023, after Joe Glover announced in January he would be stepping down from the position after 15 years."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville nonprofit continues its lawsuit, responds to judge’s deadline. "U.S. District Court Judge Allen Winsor declared on Dec. 21 that the group had no standing to sue Gov. Ron DeSantis over House Bill 1645, signed by the governor last year and responsible for the creation of the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority."

• News Service of Florida: NCFL lawmaker proposes shielding officers involved in shootings from public records. "After the Florida Supreme Court ruled in November that a 2018 constitutional amendment does not shield the identities of crime victims, a House Republican from North Central Florida on Tuesday filed proposals that would create a public-records exemption — including for police officers who say they are crime victims."

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Around the state

• Fresh Take Florida: On presidential campaign ropes, Florida governor recounts conservative victories in legislative address. "With his presidential campaign on the ropes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Gov. Ron DeSantis made a quick trip home Tuesday to prod the Republican-led Legislature to continue its embrace of conservative policies on education, crime and social issues."

• Florida Storms: Severe weather storm impacts Panhandle with reported tornados. "As of Tuesday afternoon, several unconfirmed tornadoes have been reported: one in Panama City, one in Walton County and another by the I-10 corridor near Marianna."

• Fresh Take Florida: Florida prisoner who threatened to behead US judge given 3 years behind bars. "A federal judge in Orlando sentenced a state prison inmate Tuesday to just over three years in prison plus three years of probation for mailing a letter in 2021 threatening to murder a senior federal judge in Jacksonville and his wife."

• PolitiFact: Is income growth in Florida No. 1 in the U.S., as DeSantis said? "Income growth is measurable in several ways, and using some of those statistics, Florida performs well compared with its peers."

• WMFE-Orlando: NASA delays its upcoming Artemis missions. "NASA announced it is delaying its mission aimed at sending humans back to the moon, and the delay will postpone the human launch by nearly one year."

• News Service of Florida: Florida senator proposes restrictions on mail-in voting. "In part, the bill would place restrictions on who may cast ballots by mail. While mail-in voting is now broadly available, the bill would allow it only for certain groups, such as people who would be absent from their home counties, people who have illnesses or disabilities that prevent them from going to polling places and members of the military stationed overseas."

• WMFE-Orlando: Despite public criticism, Orlando passes ordinance banning people from blocking city sidewalks. "Anyone who walks, stands, sits, lies, or places objects on the sidewalk, preventing people from walking through, could be found in violation, according to the ordinance, facing fines of up to $600 or 60 days in jail."

• Miami Herald: Can Florida’s corals survive climate change? Fate of one small reef may hold the answer. "Now, as ocean temperatures cool, teams of scientists are engaged in an unprecedented effort to assess not only the heat wave damage but the future of South Florida's long-ailing reef tract."

From NPR News

• Health: Red Cross declares an emergency blood shortage, as number of donors hits 20-year low

• Politics: House conservatives oppose bipartisan spending agreement, demanding further cuts

• Obituaries: Former first lady Melania Trump's mother has died

• Health: Why there's a storm brewing about global food aid from the U.S.

• Business: Will the feds block a grocery megamerger? Kroger and Albertsons will soon find out

• National: Guantánamo Bay has been open for 22 years despite calls for its closure

• Health: A discovery in the muscles of long COVID patients may explain exercise troubles

• Music: Sinéad O'Connor died of natural causes, coroner says

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.