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The stories near you

• WUFT News: UF professor to conduct experiment in space. "A professor at the University of Florida is set to become the first ever academic funded by NASA to do their own experiment in space."

• Fresh Take Florida: Ohio convict pleads guilty to threat to kill state judge in Florida. "An Ohio prison inmate already convicted of rape and kidnapping pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to threatening to kill a Florida judge and sexually assault the judge’s wife and daughter."

• The Alligator: Healthcare contract dispute could leave UF Health patients uninsured statewide. "The two entities have been in contract negotiations for the past several months. UF Health, which operates 12 hospitals and more than 140 primary care practices throughout the state, said it is still waiting for United to respond with a 'fair and sustainable offer.'"

• The Alligator: Alachua County Commission approves East Gainesville affordable housing. "The goal of the East Gainesville Legacy Community Engagement Project is to build low maintenance, affordable housing at the market rate on the 13-acre property owned by the county. The project is also meant to decrease poverty and promote routes that are walkable for civilians and bicyclists."

• Mainstreet Daily News: DeSantis appoints 3 to Suwannee River Water Management District Board. "Larry Thompson, of Bell, and Harry Smith, of Lake City, were both reappointed to the board while George Wheeler, of Madison, is a new appointment."

• The Alligator: Ben Shelton cruises to Second Round victory at US Open. "Former Florida men’s tennis phenom Ben Shelton cruised to another win at the US Open Championships in New York. The No. 13 player in the world defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, Wednesday."

• Mainstreet Daily News: GHS alum inducted into wrestling Hall of Fame. "Ryland Wagner graduated from Gainesville High School in 1997. A little over 27 years later, Wagner joined a special group this past weekend when he was inducted into the Florida Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame."

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Around the state

• Associated Press: Following protests, DeSantis says a plan to develop state parks is 'going back to the drawing board'. "The proposal prompted hundreds of protesters to gather at the parks this week and sparked rare bipartisan opposition, including from Florida’s Republican U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott."

• Tampa Bay Times ($): Satanic Temple plans to ‘raise hell’ over Florida school chaplain law. "Gov. Ron DeSantis has derided the Satanic Temple as not a real religion, and the department rule appears aimed at keeping it out of Florida schools."

• NPR: 9 people have died in connection to the listeria outbreak among Boar's Head products. "The Boar's head recall was first issued in July and linked to a ready-to-eat liverwurst product. The recall has since expanded to includes dozens of products, such as sliced ham varieties, sausages and loaves, all of which were manufactured at the same Virginia plant as the liverwurst."

• Central Florida Public Media: Police close investigation of Pulse nightclub owners over negligence allegations. "Last year, a group approached the Orlando Police Department with allegations that suggested the owners, Barbara and Rosario Poma, demonstrated involuntary manslaughter by culpable negligence, which led to the 2016 mass shooting and the deaths of 49 people."

• News Service of Florida: Biden administration fires a return shot in a Florida gun sales lawsuit. "It urged a U.S. district judge to toss out the lawsuit, which challenges a new federal rule that requires more gun sellers to be licensed and run background checks on buyers, disputing state arguments about lost tax revenue from gun shows."

• Central Florida Public Media: Millions of Floridians in need of affordable housing, says new report. "The report found that at least 2.4 million families in Florida are cost burdened, meaning more than 30% of their income is spent on just rent and utilities. Of those families, 1.3 million are considered low-income households and were reported to be severely cost burdened — meaning they spend at least half of their income just to keep a home with power and running water."

• News Service of Florida: Judge backs Pensacola abortion clinic license. "An administrative law judge Wednesday ruled that Florida should approve a license for a Pensacola abortion clinic after regulators last year rejected the application because of what they alleged were problems at a now-closed clinic in Louisiana."

• Associated Press: Florida says an execution of a Dozier victim shouldn't be stayed for Parkinson's symptoms. "Death row inmate Loran Cole is appealing the state's lethal injection procedures to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody argues that Cole waited too long to raise his claims."

From NPR News

• National: Judge dismisses felony charges against 2 ex-officers in Breonna Taylor case

• Space: FAA grounds SpaceX ahead of historic Polaris Dawn commercial spacewalk

• National: At least 7 middle and high school football players have died in August

• Politics: Fallout from Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery visit continues after campaign video

• Technology: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov indicted in France

• National: Former elected official found guilty of murdering Las Vegas veteran reporter

• Health: Were you sent home from school for head lice? Here’s why that’s no longer recommended

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.