Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m.
The stories near you
• Fresh Take Florida: In unusual Florida case, drug dealer’s guns can’t be considered in sentencing. "A ruling by a state appeals court in a little-noticed, nearly two-year court battle over a drug arrest in central Florida may have broad implications for Second Amendment rights in a state with so many owners of firearms that it’s sometimes called the 'Gunshine State.'"
• WCJB: City commission votes to defund Starke Police Department, hire sheriff’s office. "The controversial proposal to eliminate the Starke Police Department in favor of outsourcing law enforcement to the county was approved on Tuesday night."
• Florida Storms: Parts of the Panhandle reported wintry precipitation on Tuesday. But just how uncommon is it? "Residents of the Panhandle woke up to an uncommon sight on Tuesday morning: Snow flurries and freezing rain. The conditions were brought on by the passage of a strong cold front through the Mississippi Valley and the Southeast."
• Ocala Gazette: Local, state and national statistics don’t paint a clear picture on crime rates. "Last year, the 'Gazette' reported on the nationwide glitch in crime reporting statistics. The newspaper revisited the issue after Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken asserted during a press conference announcing the apprehension of Paddock Mall shooter Albert Shell that 'violent crime is down locally, across the state and nation.'"
• WUFT News: 91-year-old founder feeds horses every day at the Retirement Home for Horses. "Co-founder Mary Gregory turned 91 in December, but she still goes out on her golf cart four times a day to tend to the horses. She said her secret to staying active at her age is because she loves the outdoors, and because she’s a vegetarian."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Spurrier’s unveils championship portrait of UF men’s golf coach. "Last summer, Deacon led the men’s golf team to victory at the Golf National Championship, winning in both individual and team categories."
Today's sponsored message
Around the state
• WFSU-Tallahassee: Flags like LGBTQ+ Pride and Black Lives Matter could be barred from being hung in public buildings. "A bill that prohibits such places from displaying flags that represent a political viewpoint passed its first committee stop today. Jon Harris Maurer with the group Equality Florida spoke against the measure."
• WMFE-Orlando: AARP Florida ties rise in nursing home hospitalizations to reduced nurse staffing. "The report says those residents get 30 minutes less of a nurse or nursing assistant's time in the average day compared to two years ago. Meanwhile, re-hospitalizations increased by 12% among short-term nursing home residents. For long-term residents, unplanned hospitalizations rose by 20 percent in a single year."
• WFSU-Tallahassee: Care for moms and expectant parents is at the center of several new bills moving forward this session. "Reducing maternity care deserts in Florida is one of the goals of Senate President Kathleen Passidmo’s healthcare access package, dubbed Live Healthy. It includes provisions that would reduce regulations for autonomous nurse midwives, expand telehealth maternity care and create a designation for advanced birth centers."
• Associated Press: Disney says a free speech case should help its lawsuit against Gov. DeSantis. "A decision last week by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that revived a First Amendment challenge by former prosecutor Andrew Warren, who was suspended by DeSantis, should support Disney's arguments against the governor, the company said Thursday in a court filing."
• News Service of Florida: Florida Board of Education takes aim at DEI and a sociology course. "Carrying out parts of a controversial 2023 law, the State Board of Education on Wednesday approved rules that will prevent colleges from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and remove a sociology class from a list of 'core' courses."
• WMFE-Orlando: Where have all the teachers gone? State needs more than 4,000. "The Florida Education Association says the shortage that comes halfway through the school year is critically impacting English language learners and special education students."
• The Conversation: America’s aging buildings: What we can learn from high-profile disasters like Surfside. "Four recent catastrophic building collapses and a near miss are raising concerns about the state of America’s aging buildings and questions about who, if anyone, is checking their safety."
• PolitiFact: Aliens at Bayside? Social media claims are astronomically wrong. "After a New Year’s incident at a Miami mall sparked a massive police response, social media users started spreading some out-of-this-world claims."
From NPR News
• National: Kenneth Smith could be the first person executed with nitrogen gas. He spoke with NPR
• Weather: Winter storms in Oregon have cut power for thousands and killed several
• National: Lawmakers call for IRS scrutiny of Trump-backed nonprofit that aids Jan. 6 rioters
• Politics: With contempt charge on hold, Hunter Biden and House Republicans negotiate testimony
• Business: U.S. judge blocks JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit, saying deal would hurt consumers
• Sports: Several fans treated for hypothermia at the fourth-coldest game in NFL history
• Space: James Webb Telescope detects earliest known black hole — it's really big for its age
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.