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• WUFT News: Alachua County Teacher of the Year instructs students with 'exceptionalities'. "Benson explained that students are placed at Lanier, which is not an assigned school zone. The teachers are there to help support the students’ needs based on their abilities and based on their individual education plans."
• Florida Storms: Florida's frosty forecast continues through Saturday. "Old man winter is keeping its grip on Florida, at least for a few more days. In fact, some parts of Florida have been colder and snowier than Anchorage Alaska!"
• Fresh Take Florida: Sheriff’s office warns Florida drivers on SunPass text scam. "The text claims to be from SunPass, urging drivers to pay by Jan. 21 in order to 'avoid excessive late fees and potential legal action on statements.' Below the message is a fraudulent link, potentially designed to steal personal information."
• Associated Press: Rubio will visit Central America, including Panama, on first trip abroad as secretary of state. "Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first official trip abroad next week to Central America, including a stop in Panama, which President Donald Trump has riled with talk of trying to reclaim the Panama Canal."
• WUFT News: Century of sound: UF celebrates 100th anniversary of University Auditorium’s pipe organ. "All week long, the auditorium will be filled with performers, music and history as the university community celebrates one of its longest-standing instruments."
• WUFT News: ‘More than just doing hair’: Ocala resident offers haircuts in mobile hair salon. "Milagros Alvarez struggled as a child with being overweight and maintaining her self-esteem. Now, not only has she learned to recognize her own beauty, but the Ocala resident also works to ensure that others feel beautiful, too, regardless of their means."
• Gainesville Sun ($): Report: Officer failed to conduct proper checks during inmate's suicide at Alachua County Jail. "The Administrative Investigation Report, dated Nov. 27, 2024, and obtained by The Sun via a public records request, details the events surrounding the death of inmate Stewart Robinson, 54, who on Oct. 12, 2024, was found hanged in his cell in the male infirmary at the jail with a noose made out of a bedsheet."
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Around the state

• Central Florida Public Media: As Florida ERs see flu cases spike CDC issues new bird flu guidance. "Last week, the CDC issued new guidance to hospitals and labs to test for flu subtypes within 24 hours, especially for patients in the ICU. Most physicians and hospitals do not have the specific test required to identify bird flu, referred to by medical experts as influenza A(H5). Instead, they look for other subtypes they can check for."
• Associated Press: Gulf of Whatnow? Trump's renaming plans leave mapmakers pondering what to do next. "Map lines are inherently political. After all, they're representations of the places that are important to human beings — and those priorities can be delicate and contentious, even more so in a globalized world where multiple nations often share the same maps."
• Central Florida Public Media: Florida could offer standardized tests in languages other than English. "Democratic State Representatives Kristen Arrington and Rita Harris filed companion bills that would allow English language learners, or ELL students, to take tests in their first language."
• WFSU-Tallahassee: "Nickel Boys" film, based on the Dozier School, gets Best Picture nomination. "Nickel Boys, directed by RaMell Ross, has received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film is almost entirely shot from the point of view of boys in the fictitious Nickel Reform School in Florida during the Jim Crow era. The events of the film are based on the real-life Dozier School for Boys."
• WLRN-Miami: South Florida agencies sign up for federal enforcement program to pursue undocumented immigrants. "Several South Florida local governments have submitted applications to a program that would formalize ties between local and regional law enforcement agencies and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), WLRN has learned."
• WUSF-Tampa: Repair of Tropicana Field could be pushed back after 2026 season opener. "The Tampa Bay Rays had requested the city of St. Petersburg fix the Trop's teflon roof, which had been torn to shreds during Hurricane Milton. But the city is saying their current agreement does not specify a timeline for any repairs."
From NPR News
• National: U.S. judge temporarily blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order
• Politics: Experts warn about the 'crumbling infrastructure' of federal government data
• Health: Purdue Pharma and owners to pay $7.4 billion in settlement of lawsuits over OxyContin
• Politics: One of the Jan. 6 defendants has turned down Trump's pardon
• Climate: The U.S. is trying to unravel a hacking plot that targeted climate activists
• Health: National Institutes of Health cancel scientific meetings after Trump directives
• Politics: Elon Musk tried to turn the salute controversy into a joke
• National: Costco's shareholders overwhelmingly reject anti-DEI proposal
• Science: Peeing is contagious in chimpanzees, study suggests
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.