Dengue Outbreak Reaches 485 Cases

Florida has confirmed 485 locally acquired dengue cases this year, the largest outbreak in the United States in decades.

Hillsborough County accounts for 385 of them, and Pinellas County has 67. Cases have now turned up in 12 counties, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The state added 60 cases in a single week. The previous high in recent memory was 199 cases in 2023, and Florida logged just 62 last year.

Hillsborough has extended its local state of emergency through Nov. 5, and mosquito crews are stepping up treatments by air and ground. One death has been confirmed: an 80-year-old Hillsborough County woman.

Dengue is nicknamed “breakbone fever” for the severe joint and muscle pain it causes. Health officials urge residents to dump standing water and wear repellent.

Panhandle Gets Individual FEMA Aid

President Trump approved FEMA individual assistance for residents of eight Panhandle counties hit by Hurricane Isaias.

The approval covers Bay, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, and Washington counties and grants a request from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Residents can apply at DisasterAssistance.gov for help with housing, home repairs, and other storm-related needs.

Isaias made landfall in Destin on Oct. 9 as a Category 2 hurricane. Insurers have received 62,295 claims worth more than $652 million, and 33,368 of them remained open with no payment as of Tuesday.

Santa Rosa County leads the state with 29,463 claims, followed by Escambia County with 19,274.

FEMA can’t pay for losses covered by insurance, but Escambia County Emergency Manager Travis Tompkins urged everyone with damage to apply anyway. “It’s not meant to make everybody completely whole,” he told WEAR.

FSU Health Opens Research Hub

Florida State University cut the ribbon Friday on a roughly 140,000-square-foot health research building, the first under its new FSU Health brand.

The four-story building sits on the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare campus and puts patient care, training, and research under one roof. FSU Family Medicine, which serves more than 12,000 patients a year, fills the first floor, with simulation labs and gene-editing research labs above it.

FSU trustees named the building for Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who approved $125 million for it as Senate president. The university expects it to bring in $40 million a year in grants.

The opening comes as FSU and Tallahassee Memorial move forward as one health system. FSU President Richard McCullough called the merger “a complete no-brainer.”

He said it will let patients get certain types of care in Tallahassee instead of traveling to other cities.

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➤ Statewide: Florida Power & Light asked regulators to set the typical residential bill at $141.87 a month starting in January, $1.18 below the rate approved in last year’s settlement. FPL says the savings would offset a proposed $3.48 monthly surcharge to recover Hurricane Isaias restoration costs. (See Details)

➤ Daytona Beach: Volusia County deputies arrested Allison Albro, 21, after she posted that she was going to President Trump’s Friday rally at the Ocean Center to shoot him “with my glock.” She told investigators she was joking and had no gun, but she faces charges of written threats to kill and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. (More)

➤ Key West: The Coast Guard is searching for a 36-foot boat with three people aboard after the crew radioed a distress call west of Key West. (More)

➤ Groveland: The city took ownership of its 101-year-old downtown train depot after a nearly 20-year effort and budgeted $500,000 to start restoring it in 2027. (Read Story)

➤ Tallahassee: FSU assistant professor Hristo Chipilski landed a $422,645 National Science Foundation grant to sharpen nighttime thunderstorm forecasts. About 35% of Tallahassee-area tornadoes strike after dark, according to the National Weather Service. (More)

➤ Manatee County: Keep Manatee Beautiful’s two-man rapid response crew hauled away 64,580 pounds of illegally dumped debris in six months, including six to eight mattresses stacked in a road median. The crew made 107 trips to the landfill. (See Details)

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➤ No. 1 Miami survived Bill Belichick’s North Carolina 38-35 behind Mark Fletcher Jr.’s go-ahead touchdown run on fourth down and a forced fumble on the Tar Heels’ next drive. The Hurricanes visit No. 5 Notre Dame next. (More)

➤ No. 17 Florida committed four turnovers in a 27-8 loss to No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta, the Gators’ sixth straight loss to the Bulldogs. Aaron Philo was benched after throwing two interceptions. (More)

➤ Florida State fell 36-24 to Clemson in Tallahassee, its third straight loss. Ashton Daniels threw for 350 yards but was intercepted three times. (More)

➤ Reigning NHL MVP Nikita Kucherov has reportedly requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. General manager Julien BriseBois said, “We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.” (More)

➤ The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without wide receiver Emeka Egbuka against the Atlanta Falcons today after he cleared concussion protocol but deals with a foot injury. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: NCAAF | WNBA | NHL | NBA | Soccer | Golf

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➤ The Miami Heat unveiled a reworked version of Dwyane Wade’s bronze statue outside the Kaseya Center, fitting it with a new head two years after the original drew widespread jokes for not looking like him. Wade signed off on the changes. (More)

➤ A kitten tossed from a moving car into Melbourne traffic this summer now has a permanent home with Sam and Elyssa Pecora, the couple who saw it happen. Rescuers named the 6-month-old Aurora after the intersection where she nearly died. (Read Story)

➤ Knaus Berry Farm, the Southwest Miami-Dade farm which has been baking its famous sticky buns for 70 years, took the No. 1 spot for Florida on Yelp’s list of the best cinnamon rolls in every state. Strawberry picking is expected to return in December. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country. 

➤ Halloween came with curfews and extra cops as towns braced for a repeat of last year’s teenage mayhem. (Hear More)

➤ Scientists uncovered secrets of Mars’ ancient, watery past inside a rose-colored meteorite found in the Sahara Desert. (Listen Now)

➤  Art experts revealed how beginners could start collecting valuable artwork without spending a fortune. (Podcast Available)

Legoland Brick-or-Treat brings a spooky twist to the park with dancing vampires and pumpkins around every corner.

What do you think about the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade statue?

1. I like the old one
2. I like the new one
3. I don’t care

Saturday’s Results:

How are you spending Halloween tonight?

1. At home, porch light off: 56%
2. Handing out candy: 28%
3. At a party or fall festival: 11%
4. Trick-or-treating with kids or grandkids: 5%

From 1909 to 1947, Florida State University went by a different name. What was it?

Show me the answer