WUFT-TV/FM | WJUF-FM
1200 Weimer Hall | P.O. Box 118405
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 392-5551

A service of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

© 2024 WUFT / Division of Media Properties
News and Public Media for North Central Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Point, Oct. 31, 2024: Tech groups ask judge to block teen social media ban

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


The stories near you

• WUFT News: What you can expect from WUFT on election night. "Our goal is to remain a trusted source of news during an election in which misinformation continues to proliferate. Here’s what you can expect from us on election night this year."

The Florida House passed a revamped social media ban on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Fresh Take Florida)
The Florida House passed a revamped social media ban on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Fresh Take Florida)

• WUFT News: Tech groups ask judge to block new Florida law banning social media for teens. "The law blocks anyone under 16 in Florida from using some social media but allows 14- and 15-year-olds to use the online services with a parent’s permission. It also requires companies that 'knowingly and intentionally' publish or distribute material harmful to minors – or platforms that contain a substantial portion of material harmful to minors – to verify each user's age."

• WUFT News: Alachua County Supervisor of Elections opens early voting site at Santa Fe College. "The Supervisor of Elections is expecting a larger voter turnout for the 2024 general election, and after seeing early voting turnout results at the Millhopper Library in previous years, decided to open Santa Fe College as a polling site to reduce some of the wait times."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua County, Gainesville continue storm debris removal. "Contractors are prioritizing areas offering higher rates, the county said, which has left Alachua County and other counties short-staffed as contractors move to more heavily affected regions."

• WUFT News: Matheson event remembers local civil rights hero Cora Roberson. "Cora Roberson — a pioneering educator, civil rights advocate, and hidden figure known for her lifelong impact on equality, education, and the Gainesville community — was honored for her legacy at the Matheson History Museum on Wednesday."

• Florida Storms: Something is trying to brew in the tropics: what do we know & what do you need to know. "In the short term, this area does not have a chance to develop. If anything does develop, it will be by the end of next week when conditions become more favorable for a tropical system to develop. The NHC gives it a medium chance to develop within the next 7 days."

• WCJB: Exactech to continue ‘normal operations’ in Gainesville after filing for bankruptcy. "As of now, Exactech will still continue its operations as normal. The Exactech Arena at the O’Connell Center on the University of Florida campus will maintain its name."

• Florida Storms: The Fear Factor: Weather phobias that terrify people. "It’s spooky season! Halloween is synonymous with trick or treating, haunted houses and horror movies. But nearly 1 in 10 people have a fear of weather, including phobias of the weather. According to a study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, storm phobias occur in 2%–3% of the general population."


Today's sponsored message


Around the state

A sign showing people where to vote at Santa Fe College. (Aimee Sullivan/WUFT News)
A sign showing people where to vote at Santa Fe College. (Aimee Sullivan/WUFT News)

• News Service of Florida: Voters weigh party labels in school board races. "When Florida voters went to the polls in 1998, they passed a constitutional amendment that made a series of election-related changes, including requiring nonpartisan races for county school board seats. But 26 years later, voters could change course."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: What could Florida's 60% threshold mean for the state's proposed abortion amendment? "Over the next several days, voters in 10 states will decide whether to enshrine the right to abortion in their constitutions. One of those states is here in Florida, where most abortions after six weeks are currently banned. Some states just require a majority vote to pass ballot measures. In Florida, that threshold is higher."

• Associated Press: Teen Trump supporter charged with threatening Harris backers at polling place with machete. "Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said Williams and seven 16- and 17-year-olds drove to a suburban Jacksonville library Tuesday afternoon specifically “to protest and antagonize the opposing political side.” Carrying Trump flags, they began yelling at a group of Harris supporters and that escalated."

• WLRN-Miami: Appeals court upholds conviction of longtime Everglades scientist. "The Foundation sued their former chief scientist, regarded as one of the leading hydrologists in Everglades restoration, in 2022 after he quit following a long simmering disagreement over a controversial Everglades reservoir championed by the Foundation and Gov. Ron DeSantis."

• Central Florida Public Media: ‘Wandering’ is a danger for those with Alzheimer’s. There are ways to reduce the risk. "Jennifer Braisted, government affairs director for the Alzheimer's Association in Florida, says six in 10 people living with the disease will wander off at some point. Maybe they're nervous in a social situation. Maybe they think they have to go work or, not knowing where they are, think they have to get home."

• WLRN-Miami: Florida’s condo sales falling fast as reforms approach. "The drop in condo sales is not confined to South Florida. Statewide, the pace of the sale of condominiums and townhouses fell almost 21% in September compared to a year earlier. The number of units looking for buyers shot up by 65%."

• WLRN-Miami: Miami Beach scraps ballot item on homeless and domestic violence tax — after voting has begun. "The commission's decision means no votes will be counted — even as thousands of voters have already cast ballots in early voting."

From NPR News

• Law: Supreme Court allows Virginia to purge individuals from voter rolls

• Health: Shortage of IV fluids leads to canceled surgeries

• Health: Bird flu has been found in a pig for the first time in the U.S.

• Law: What could happen at the Supreme Court under Harris and Trump

• National: Millions of low-cost homes are deteriorating, making the U.S. housing shortage worse

• Education: In this school’s election, it’s pizza vs. chicken nuggets, with democracy as the winner

• National: Enforcement was considered discriminatory. Now New Yorkers can jaywalk legally

• Sports: Handsy fans disrupted a World Series game. Here are 5 notable MLB interference cases

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.