Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m.

The stories near you

• Central Florida Public Media: Ocala trial begins for woman who fatally shot her neighbor through a door. "Jury selection was underway Monday in Ocala in the trial of a woman who shot her neighbor through her own locked and bolted front door last year. Sixty-year-old Susan Lorincz is charged with manslaughter with a firearm and has pleaded not guilty."

• WUFT News: East Gainesville’s first urgent care center will open soon. Residents call it a “start.” "East Gainesville residents have long had to go to elsewhere in the city for medical and shopping options that other local communities take for granted. For example, just one of eight UF Health family medicine centers and one of more than 30 grocery stores are east of Main."

• Florida Storms: Potential Tropical System 5 moves fast toward the Caribbean, expected to turn north. "There is another tropical system brewing in the Atlantic. It is located just under 500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. The great news is that it is not forecast to impact the continental U.S. directly, and that includes our Sunshine State."

• WUFT News: State attorney transitions to digital forensic software to aid cases. "Digital forensic evidence, such as documents, media, messages and transactions, are used in both criminal and civil investigations. Kramer said the state attorney’s office downloaded 26,000 individual pieces of digital forensic evidence per month, and he employed nine full-time staff to download, digest and analyze digital evidence."

• News Service of Florida: Hurricane Debby damage is 'manageable' for insurers. "Hurricane Debby is expected to be a 'very manageable event' for the insurance industry, but many homeowners in drenched inland areas could face cleaning up without flood insurance, according to an analysis by the global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Newberry receives $350,000 grant for historic power plant. "The city applied last year for the grant to restore the power plant, which is registered with the National Register of Historic Places, but the building’s new lease on life is to be geared to arts and culture rather than utilities."

• WCJB: University of Florida puts $25 million towards faculty salary raises. "The board voted to create a 4% merit raise pool for out-of-unit faculty and a 3.75% merit raise pool for staff, which will become effective Oct. 1."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville starts mosquito spraying following Hurricane Debby. "City staff is asking people to help battle the mosquito populations by draining containers or any items on their property that may have collected water during the storm. These include tire swings, discarded tires, boat covers, tarps and saucers under potted plants."

Today's sponsored message

Around the state

• Associated Press: Dozens of pregnant women, some bleeding or in labor, being turned away from ERs despite federal law. "More than 100 pregnant women in medical distress who sought help from emergency rooms were turned away or negligently treated since 2022. That's according to an Associated Press analysis of federal hospital investigations."

• WUSF-Tampa: Migrant farmworkers are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, study shows. "The migrant farmworker community is one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to natural disasters. Language barriers and immigration status are major hurdles to seeking emergency relief."

• Associated Press: Why the fastest-growing place for young kids in the US is in the metro with the oldest residents. "As one of the world's largest retirement communities, The Villages in central Florida is known for its endless golf courses, having the oldest median age in the United States and its traffic-stopping golf-cart parades usually supporting a Republican candidate during campaign season. What it's not known for is kids."

• WLRN-Miami: Good flooding? Scientists use rice cultivation to preserve soil in Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Area. "The area has lost nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) of soil in the past century through a process called subsidence. One way to slow down this subsidence and preserve the nutrient-rich soil is to flood the area during Florida’s rainy season and use the fields to grow rice."

• Associated Press: An investigator says a 'fraudulent' $237 million gift to Florida A&M is void. "A record multimillion-dollar donation to Florida’s only public historically Black university by little-known entrepreneur Gregory Gerami has been under intense scrutiny since it was announced in May."

• News Service of Florida: A condemned killer appeals to the Florida Supreme Court. "A day after a Marion County circuit judge rejected their arguments, attorneys for Death Row inmate Loran Cole on Friday appealed to the Florida Supreme Court as they try to prevent his scheduled Aug. 29 execution."

• Associated Press: Snake hunters seek invasive Burmese pythons in Florida's Everglades. "Over the past decade, the python challenge has grabbed headlines for it's incentive-based, only-in-Florida style of hunting as well as celebrity participation. This year, more than 600 people registered for the event, with two coming from Canada and 108 from other states."

• WUWF-Pensacola: Escambia considers sinking another ship. "Escambia County commissioners are considering investing up to $3 million to sink a derelict, 1,000-foot ocean liner off Pensacola Beach, creating what would be the world’s largest artificial reef. Advocates believe the move could boost the region’s tourism economy, while skeptics worry it could be a barge too far."

From NPR News

• Politics: 162 lies and distortions in a news conference. NPR fact-checks former President Trump

• Health: Is COVID endemic yet? Yep, says the CDC. Here's what that means

• Elections: No tax on tips: Why politicians love it, and economists don't

• Business: Costco says it's going to start cracking down on membership sharing

• Technology: Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO and Silicon Valley visionary, dies at 56

• Business: Elon Musk is bringing lawsuits to Texas. A judge with Tesla stock keeps hearing them

• National: A geological feature called the 'Double Arch' in southern Utah has collapsed

• Environment: The world's largest iceberg is stuck twirling in an ocean vortex

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.