New since the last brief
- State · Election More Than 3.5 Million Floridians Have Now Voted in the Nov. 3 General Election
Nearly 370,000 more ballots were cast in a single day, the state's figures show. Early votes now top 1.9 million, and about 847,000 mail ballots are still out six days before Election Day. - Breaking · State Florida AG Charges Kissimmee Man With 100 Felony Counts of Child Sexual Abuse Material, Sues AI Platform A2E
Attorney General James Uthmeier says the company behind A2E lets users make sexualized images of real Floridians, including children. He wants a court to stop it. - Breaking · State AG Uthmeier Says His Office Is Launching an Investigation Into a 'CCP-Controlled Corporation' Operating in Florida
The attorney general's post quoted a video about yacht maker Ferretti Group and its Fort Lauderdale property. Here's what the official records show and what Florida law says. - Breaking · World U.S. Treasury Sanctions Rwanda's Ministry of Defence and a Rwandan Bank Over Support for M23 Rebels
Treasury says Rwanda's defense ministry directed troops fighting alongside the M23 armed group in eastern Congo, and that the Zigama Credit and Savings Society moved money and gold for them. - World U.K. Announces £10 Billion in New Support for Ukraine, Its Largest Package Yet
The British government says the money includes £500 million for Ukraine's air defenses this winter. It was announced alongside the U.K.'s 2026 Budget. - World U.S. Treasury Sanctions 10 People and a Russia-Based Center Over North Korean IT Worker Schemes
Treasury says North Korean tech workers use fake identities to get hired by U.S. companies, and the regime keeps most of their pay to fund its weapons programs. - World Israel Counts Votes After Election; Partial Counts Show Neither Bloc at a 61-Seat Majority
Partial, unofficial counts reported by news outlets put Netanyahu's bloc at 54 seats and Eisenkot's at 49, with soldiers' ballots still to be counted. - World India and Mexico Formally Launch Talks on a Preferential Trade Agreement
The two governments signed terms of reference that set the scope and roadmap for negotiations, India's Commerce Ministry says. - World Five European Defense Ministers Pledge a Bigger Role for Europe Within NATO
France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the U.K. said the U.S. "is and will remain an indispensable Ally" and reaffirmed support for Ukraine. - World Ebola Outbreak in Congo Nears 10,000 Confirmed Cases as Kenya and Nigeria Report Imported Cases
European and WHO health officials say the risk to travelers remains low, and WHO advises against travel or trade restrictions. - World A Horse Rider's Sharp Eyes Help New Zealand Remove 141 Invasive Plants From Ninety Mile Beach
New Zealand's Department of Conservation says one beachgoer's photos and phone call led crews to a hidden patch of sea spurge. - World India Sends Federal Team to Investigate a Cheetah's Death From Pellet Injuries
The 19-month-old male was born in India to a cheetah brought in under Project Cheetah, the country's effort to reintroduce the big cats. - Sports Panthers Score Three Power-Play Goals in 5-1 Win at Winnipeg
Carter Verhaeghe scored twice, Matthew Tkachuk had four assists and Brady Tkachuk added a goal and two assists. The two teams meet again Friday in Sunrise. - Getaways Apalachicola: two small state museums in an old Gulf cotton port
A Franklin County fishing town on the Forgotten Coast, with an 1838 cotton merchant's home and a museum to the doctor who patented mechanical refrigeration. - Getaways Weeki Wachee Springs: the mermaid show and a first-magnitude spring
A classic Old Florida attraction in Hernando County, where mermaids perform in water that flows from a first-magnitude spring. - Humanity · Feel-good Florida Agencies Thank the People Behind the Badge on National First Responders Day
Police and sheriff's offices from Orlando to Tampa used Oct. 28 to recognize officers, deputies, dispatchers and the newest 911 call-takers.
Still developing
- Breaking · World At Least 64 Dead After Two High-Speed Trains Collide Near Urda, Spain
Officials confirm 64 dead and 58 injured, including a Guardia Civil officer. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has visited the site and says officials are working to find the cause. Updated Updated 1:35 p.m. ET: Spain's regional emergency service now confirms 64 dead and 58 injured, a Guardia Civil officer is among the dead, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the site..
Earlier today
- State · Weather Coastal Flood Warnings Extended Into Friday on Much of Florida's Atlantic Coast; Keys Remain Under Major Flooding Warning
The National Weather Service extended coastal flood warnings for Northeast and East Central Florida until 2 a.m. Friday, with rough surf and rip currents continuing; the Keys remain under a warning. - Breaking · Local Man Shot and Killed on Taliaferro Avenue in Tampa; Sheriff's Office Says Detectives Believe It Was Isolated
Hillsborough County deputies found the man with upper-body trauma late Tuesday night. He died at a hospital, and the investigation is active. - State · Election Three Proposed Constitutional Amendments Are on Florida's Nov. 3 Ballot: What Each One Would Do, in the State's Own Words
The ballot summaries for Amendments 1, 2 and 3, taken directly from the Florida Division of Elections, plus the 60% rule and key voting deadlines. - Local · Orange Trick-or-Treating Saturday? Orange County Sheriff's Office Shares Its Halloween Safety Tips
Go in a group, stay on well-lit streets, cross at corners and check the candy, the agency says. - Local · Sarasota Sarasota County Residents Turn In More Than 46 Pounds of Unwanted Medication at Sheriff's Office Take Back Event
The Sheriff's Office thanked the community for taking part in the DEA Drug Take Back event over the weekend. - Feel-Good · Jacksonville Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Shows How Its Vice Detectives and Animal Care Officers Rescue Neglected Dogs
A new agency video follows emergency warrants in animal cruelty cases and the dogs taken to safety. Report suspected cruelty at 904-630-0500. - Breaking · National Trump Announces EPA Proposal to Revise Biden-Era Methane Rules for Oil and Gas Wells
The EPA says the proposal would save $45 billion and add an estimated 210 million barrels of oil; it is a proposal, not a final rule, with at least 45 days for public comment. - Breaking · National First Venezuelan Oil Cargo Under U.S. Deal Arrives in Corpus Christi as Trump and Rubio Visit the Port
The White House says the 1 million barrels will be refined in Texas; the producer says the first cargo came at no cost to taxpayers under an August agreement. - State · Election Who's Running Statewide in Florida on Nov. 3: The Qualified Candidates, From the State's Own List
The state's list of qualified candidates for U.S. Senate, governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner, in the order the state lists them. - State · Election More Than 3.1 Million Floridians Have Already Voted in the Nov. 3 General Election
State figures compiled Tuesday show about 1.66 million early votes and 1.49 million mail ballots returned, with nearly 1 million mail ballots still out. - National · Election Trump Rallies in Corinth, Mississippi, for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Urges Early Voting
Speaking eight days before the Nov. 3 midterm election, the president asked supporters to vote, according to the official video. - State (Panhandle) Hurricane Isaias Recovery Centers in the Panhandle Begin Closing; Santa Rosa Site's Last Day Is Wednesday
The state's in-person recovery centers in Santa Rosa, Washington, Escambia and Walton counties close between Oct. 28 and Oct. 31; Okaloosa's has no closing date yet. - Local (Hillsborough) · Feel-good Hillsborough Sheriff's Office Celebrates Its 2026 Class of Volunteer Citizen Patrol Graduates
Residents who trained in crime prevention and first aid will volunteer as an extra set of eyes and ears for the Sheriff's Office.
Halfway through Wednesday, and these are the facts so far. You decide what they add up to.
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