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

• WUFT News: 21 of World Equestrian Center owners’ horses die in Reddick barn fire. "The barn in Reddick, a small town 15 miles north of Ocala, caught fire just before 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to Marion County firefighters. The property belongs to Roby and Mary Roberts, the president and chairwoman of the company which owns the World Equestrian Center."
• Fresh Take Florida: UF international student detained by immigration agents now back in Colombia. "'I am pleased to inform that my son has returned to the country (Colombia) – from Miami. However, his immigration and academic situation with the University of Florida has not yet been resolved,' said (his mother's) statement in Spanish. 'We are confident that he will be able to count on the necessary support to complete his professional training.'"
• WUFT News: Young artists champion the environment in 'Saving My Alachua' art contest. "The contest was founded in 2014 by Eliana Bardi, the Senior Planner with the Environmental Protection Department, with the first calendar published in 2015. Bardi saw it as an opportunity to engage students in environmental issues through art while spreading awareness of the county’s conservation efforts."
• WUFT News: Gainesville theater at full speed after Covid’s lingering impact. "In March of 2020, for the first time since World War II, Florida’s oldest community theater went dark. The Gainesville Community Playhouse closed, not due to a war, but a global pandemic."
• Ocala Star-Banner ($): Two men are dead; their families have sued the Marion County sheriff and several deputies. "Two federal lawsuits have been filed against the Marion County sheriff and several deputies alleging that negligent behavior led to two deaths. The filings claim that the mistreatment is part of a disturbing pattern that has been ongoing and that the sheriff appears unwilling to stop it."
• The Alligator: ‘Survival of the fittest’: UF plans to build new dorms amid complaints of mold, bugs and floods. "The plan, discussed by university leaders at a Board of Trustees meeting March 27, will increase the undergraduate bed count from 9,316 to 12,493 by 2035. In addition to Graham, Simpson and Trusler, UF plans to raze Rawlings and Tolbert Hall by the end of 2029 to make way for new housing facilities."
• Mainstreet Daily News: National Gopher Tortoise Day focuses on reptile’s benefits to ecosystem. "With populations spanning all 67 counties, gopher tortoises are far too busy as Florida’s only native tortoise species for training to race rabbits. The reptiles serve their ecosystem as a keynote species with over 400 other species depending on them for survival."
Today's sponsored message
Around the state

• WUFT News: New bill would require parental consent for STI treatment and prescription birth control. "The bill (SB 1288) presented by Sen. Erin Grall, R-Fort Pierce, was passed through a Senate Judiciary committee on March 25. The bill would end existing state law that allows for a physician to prescribe birth control or STI treatment if the physician believes harm would come to the minor without it. It would also require parental consent for a child to participate in any risk assessment survey or questionnaire."
• News Service of Florida: Florida has executed Michael Tanzi for a 2000 kidnapping and murder. "Michael Tanzi was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison, almost 25 years after he kidnapped a woman on her lunch break in Miami and murdered her in Monroe County."
• WUSF-Tampa: New College of Florida reschedules talk with Russell Brand days after rape, sexual assault charges. "The New College statement makes no mention of the allegations against Brand. The Associated Press reported on April 4 that the comedian, actor and right-wing podcaster was charged with rape and sexual assault following an 18-month investigation stemming from assault allegations from four women."
• Central Florida Public Media: Florida teacher will lose job after calling student preferred name. "Supporters of this law, including Governor Ron DeSantis, said it protects a parent’s right to know if a child is changing their name or pronouns, sometimes to align with gender identity or sexuality...But educational experts warn that the law could target teachers in a state that already has a teacher shortage, leading to teachers getting pink slipped."
• WUSF-Tampa: Canadian 'snowbirds' in the U.S. will soon face a new registration policy. "Beginning Friday, Canadians looking to stay in the U.S longer than 30 days will need to register with the government. How will this affect the snowbirds who come to Florida?"
• WLRN-Miami: Ocean current expected to warm - and could drive up sea level rise, study finds. "A sprawling, slow-moving system of ocean currents circulating in the Atlantic that help regulate the earth’s temperature is set to deliver a blob of warmer, saltier water off the U.S. coast, according to a new study published in Nature last month."
• Central Florida Public Media: Amazon’s first operational internet satellites set to launch from Cape Canaveral. "The rocket’s payload contains 27 satellites, the first batch of more than 3,200 satellites Amazon plans to place in orbit for Project Kuiper, which aims to blanket the globe with internet access. Amazon said there’s a focus on providing high-speed, reliable internet service across the globe, including those in 'unserved and underserved communities.'"
From NPR News
• Economy: Trump says he will pause tariff hikes for 90 days, but not for China
• National: Appeals court rules Trump can fire probationary federal workers once again
• Law: Judge finds Newsmax aired false and defamatory claims about voting-tech company
• National: U.S. says it is now monitoring immigrants' social media for antisemitism
• World: The Israeli troop killing of a U.S. teen in the West Bank sparks outrage
• National: What you need to know as the May 7 Real ID deadline approaches
• Science: If Planet Nine is out there, this telescope might actually find it
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.