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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Voices of protest: Florida executions continue to spark outcry from death penalty opponents. "At every Florida execution — including Jeffrey Hutchinson’s execution set for Thursday — church-goers and members of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty gather to seek an end to the practice."

• WUFT News: Investigation underway into voter eligibility in City of Alachua. "Aaron Kline, the office’s director of communications, said the team hasn’t found any violations yet. If they do, they’ll report the findings to the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Newberry City Commission swears in new mayor, commissioners. "Citizens braved a thunderstorm Monday evening to pack Newberry City Hall for the swearing in of Mayor Tim Marden and Commissioners Donald Long and Tony Mazon."

• WCJB: United Way North Central Florida awards $40,000 grant to support rural emergency assistance efforts. "The funding will support the Tri-County Community Resource Center and the Alachua County Community Resource Navigators as part of PSF’s Rural Emergency Assistance Program. This program is designed to alleviate crises faced by ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households."

• WCJB: Gainesville international market suddenly shuts down, shoppers left confused. "Residents said all that’s left of what was a popular international market is a dumpster full of discarded food. What they don’t know is why the owners closed so quickly."

Estas son las historias en español más resaltantes del mes

• Noticias WUFT: Abril es el mes de concientización sobre el autismo: Cómo nuestra comunidad contribuye a un mundo más inclusivo. “Según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, 1 de cada 31 niños es diagnosticado con autismo en los Estados Unidos de acuerdo a una estimación basada en datos de 2022. A medida que el número de diagnósticos aumentan, la concienciación se vuelve más crítica que nunca.”

• Noticias WUFT: 5 años después de la pandemia de COVID-19, que impactó a nivel mundial: ¿Cómo se ve afectada hoy la salud mental, social y física de los estudiantes universitarios?. “Los estudiantes que empezaron la universidad durante COVID-19 han experimentado dificultades para adaptarse al contacto con la vida en persona.”

• Noticias WUFT: “ICE fuera del Campus”: Una protesta para proteger a los estudiantes internacionales. “Protesta en el campus de UF en contra del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los Estados Unidos, conocidos por sus siglas en inglés como ICE. Esto se realizó días después de la deportación de Felipe Zapata Velásquez, un estudiante de la Universidad de Florida.”

• Noticias WUFT: EEUU recorta el financiamiento para las investigaciones del cáncer: ¿Que opinan los médicos y pacientes?. “Con la toma presidencial de Trump, se han empezado Desde que el Presidente Trump entró en el cargo, ha dejado en claro que tiene la intención de "reducir costos" que considera innecesarios. Uno de esos costos sería el financiamiento federal a través de los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud de Estados Unidos, NIH por sus siglas en inglés, para la investigación del cáncer.”

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Around the state

• Fresh Take Florida: Legislature rejects bills to improve backyard swimming safety. "The bill’s prospects were bleak. Over the years, similar bills have been introduced, sponsored by Democrats and Republicans, and they died in committee without so much as a hearing or a vote."

• Fresh Take Florida: Florida wrestling with whether to ban phones in more schools. "The law, a first for the U.S., requires phones to be tucked away during class time and mandates students receive instruction on the dangers of social media. It passed in 2023, just months before last school year, and has since been implemented across the state."

• Fresh Take Florida: Mockingbird keeps perch as state bird as bills flop favoring others in Capitol. "Known for its ability to vocally mimic at least a dozen other species, the gray-and-white bird held off challenges for a fourth consecutive year in the Capitol to unseat it from its perch as Florida's state bird. Lawmakers this year even tried some new strategies."

• Fresh Take Florida: Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville license plates to hit road soon: ‘He would be honored’. "More than one year after lawmakers in Tallahassee passed a bill permitting the special plate, a final design has emerged with nearly enough pre-sale orders to make it a reality."

• WLRN-Miami: Haitian immigrant dies in federal custody at Broward Transitional Center, report ICE officials. "ICE officials on Tuesday said it notified the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Consulate of Haiti in Miami about Blaise’s death. The agency says it will release a full report on Blaise’s death within 90 days."

• News Service of Florida: Water fluoride ban, labeling restrictions heading to DeSantis. "The Florida House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would prevent local governments from adding fluoride to water supplies and take aim at labeling of plant-based products as milk, meat and eggs."

• WUSF-Tampa: Faced with prospect of campus police helping ICE agents, some Florida professors speak out. "A handful of Florida universities, including UF, are now officially signed on to have campus cops help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, while faculty at three universities have asked for a halt to the program."

• The Florida Roundup: 'We took a political stance': Canadians cancel trips to Florida, unsure when they'll be back. "After some Canadian 'snowbirds' decided not to travel to America this year, one South Florida motel owner says he's seen an increase in cancellations — with the reasoning being political."

From NPR News

• Media: Corporation for Public Broadcasting sues Trump after he tries to fire board members

• Law: New lawsuit argues Trump and DOGE's government overhaul is unconstitutional

• Climate: White House dismisses authors of major climate report

• Education: Can charter schools be religious? If so, what does that mean for public education?

• National: VA research brought CT scans and pacemakers into the world. Now it's at risk of cuts

• National: A man chopped down Los Angeles trees. The crime cut deep in the struggling neighborhood

• History: The only female unit to serve overseas in WWII gets a congressional medal 80 years on

• Animals: Bodega cats aren't just cute; some in N.Y. also consider them working animals

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.