Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m.
Today's Florida stories
• Associated Press: Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will fill Marco Rubio's Senate seat. "Elected as the state's top law enforcement officer in 2018, Moody campaigned on a pledge to voters that she'd be a prosecutor, not a politician. But along with DeSantis, she boosted her political profile during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling on the federal government to 'hold China responsible' for the outbreak."
• WUFT News: Florida’s dry season comes with higher risk of wildfires. "Craig Fugate is the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and he said Florida saw extreme wildfires in 1998."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville City Commission greenlights new UF bus contract. "The new UF contract, which will be executed by the city manager and UF, included four reduced routes on campus that started Jan. 1, and the city will also provide specific ridership numbers to UF that the university will use to make future route decisions. The equipment to track that ridership will be installed by the summer."
• ESPN: Amid Golden inquiry, Gators assistant accused of sex assault. "A University of Florida athletics department employee filed a sexual assault complaint against an assistant men's basketball coach Tuesday as the school continues to investigate head coach Todd Golden for alleged Title IX violations that became public in November."
• Gainesville Sun ($): University of Florida Pipe Organ Centennial event to kick off year-long celebration of music. "University of Florida organists past and present and musical enthusiasts will gather later this month to celebrate 100 years of the Andrew Anderson Memorial Pipe Organ at the University Auditorium."
• News Service of Florida: Florida age verification law for adult content remains as U.S. Supreme Court weighs Texas lawsuit. "With the U.S. Supreme Court considering a similar Texas case, a federal judge Thursday put on hold a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new Florida law requiring age verification for access to websites with adult content."
• NPR: Development is taking a toll on Florida's precious springs. "Some springs no longer bubble up from the aquifer and even the largest are now seeing their flow steadily reduced. State policymakers acknowledge the problem, but so far have been reluctant to do anything about it."
• WUSF-Tampa: How Florida water managers are dealing with increased flooding from rainfall due to climate change. "Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties had anywhere from 10 to 18 inches of rainfall. Homes, cars and streets were flooded with rainwater for days, even weeks, after Hurricane Milton pummeled the region in October."
• News Service of Florida: A new proposal on recreational marijuana emerges, planned for 2026 ballot. "The revamped proposal from the Smart & Safe Florida committee seeks to address issues raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who led a drive to defeat last year’s constitutional measure."
• WUSF-Tampa: Here's the offbeat food menu for the 2025 Florida State Fair. "Each year, the fair introduces a new menu lineup that puts a unique spin on the normal foods you'd normally see, including burgers, funnel cakes and hotdogs."
Today's sponsored message
From NPR News
• Weather: A polar vortex is set to grip much of the U.S. What does that mean?
• National: Biden issues an 11th hour executive order aimed at strengthening U.S. cybersecurity
• Law: Giuliani fails to appear for federal civil trial, says case has been settled
• Politics: ICE estimates it would need $26.9 billion to enforce GOP deportation bill
• Climate: U.S. electricity demand is set to explode. That will make it harder to cut climate pollution
• Media: As Trump inauguration nears, FCC chief dismisses complaints against TV networks
• Books: A woman invented the rape kit. So why was a man given credit for it?
• Business: Toyota's commercial truck company will pay $1.6 billion for faking emissions tests
• Science: A new way to see what was for dinner 3 million years ago
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.