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Over the past week, the combined total number of new cases reported in Texas and Florida was greater than the combined total reported in all 27 countries within the European Union (EU). Florida saw a total of 50,000 new cases from June 25 to July 1, while Texas reported 44,300 new cases within the same period. The combined total new cases in both states in the past week amounted to 94,300, nearly three times more than the 32,458 new infections reported in the whole of the EU this week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University....

The latest closings follow a record of nearly 9,600 new infections reported Saturday, the state’s highest daily case count since the outbreak began. Florida reported a daily case count of over 8,000 new cases for the third consecutive day on June 28, according to the latest report Monday by Johns Hopkins University. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis noted at a press conference Sunday that there has been “widespread noncompliance” among reopened businesses, with safety guidelines “tossed aside....

Redshirt junior cornerback C.J. McWilliams is out for the season with a torn Achilles, Florida coach Dan Mullen confirmed during his press conference Tuesday. “That’s a tough one,” Mullen said. “Non-contact injury. It’s a shame, because it’s one of those early in practice, planted, then drove, and felt the pop. It’s a shame. That’s what’s so tough is guys that work so hard. You know, they put all this work in the offseason and then get (injured)....

Deputies had been called to a home in Tampa earlier in the day to investigate a report of a missing child, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. At the residence, deputies located the boy, who had reportedly been hiding in the home, and cleared the call. The sheriff’s office said deputies later returned to the home in order to conduct an investigation into potential child abuse....

His comments came nearly a month after Florida State University (FSU) police arrested and charged seven students for hosting an “open house party” in defiance of the school’s rules for preventing a COVID-19 outbreak. “I understand that universities are trying to do the right thing,” DeSantis said at a news briefing on Thursday, “but I personally think it’s dramatically draconian that a student could get potentially expelled for going to a party....

According to The New York Times COVID-19 tracker, Florida—the third largest state by population—has a death rate of 1.56 per 100,000 people over the last seven days. Florida has averaged 15,462 new daily cases over the past week, a rate of 72 per 100,000. While the state has recorded a 34 percent decline in cases over the past 14 days, figures from the tracker show August was the deadliest month for Florida since the pandemic began....

Champions World Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, abruptly shut down on Thursday after it learned that it had been sold to new owners. The news forced management to inform guests that they had to vacate the property that day, with many being told they had to leave the hotel by 4 p.m, WOFL Fox 35 Orlando reported. Florida Representative Darren Soto, who represents Kissimmee in the state’s 9th Congressional District, told Newsweek on Friday that the issue should be investigated....

The van belongs to Aniyah Williams, a Black woman in Gainesville who operates the Fancy Hair Collection beauty service. Williams’ van was parked outside of a graphics shop, Screaming Aero Graphix. The shop had newly added photo images of Black women on the van’s exterior. Video footage showed a male suspect driving into the area and spray-painting the letters “KKK” in red paint on the van’s side. The alleged vandal also spray-painted a crudely drawn noose around one of the women’s heads, Ocala-News....

Fidel Manual Valle, 34, was apprehended by deputies from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office last Sunday. He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, drug possession and violation of probation, according to an arrest report released yesterday. Authorities say the Dade City man was in a vehicle with the victim when he accused her of stealing $40. The incident occurred in Trilby just before 11 p.m. Officials say the suspect forced the victim to “get naked to prove she was not hiding the money....

Self-proclaimed Democratic activist and critic of Trump Thomas Kennedy said he and a group of friends from Miami paid $1,800 to have the banner flown over the residence. The banner, which read “Ha Ha Ha…” was flown over the residence for three hours on Wednesday. “We think Trump is a bully,” Kennedy told Newsweek. “So we wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine while also having a little fun ourselves....

Pembroke Pines Police Department said its officers detained 33-year-old John Ireland in Oakland Park after a citizen recognized him from images released to the public after the prisoner went missing. Ireland now faces charges for the escape from South Florida State Hospital and he will be transported to the BSO Main Jail for detention. “Thank you to our community and news media partners for assisting us in locating this individual,” the police department said in a release....

Mayor Dean Trantalis witnessed the pickup truck drive into spectators at the parade. He described the events of the accident to a reporter for WPLG at the scene and said he believed the driver was aiming for Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz, who was nearby when the incident happened. “This was a terrorist attack against the LGBT community; this is exactly what it is,” he said. The reporter then asked Trantalis if he believed the crash was an accident....

Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper on Thursday declined to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of DeSantis’ executive order banning school mask mandates, paving the way for a three-day hearing on the case starting Monday, according to WKMG. “I do believe they have a right to challenge the governor,” Cooper said in his ruling. “I’m not deciding whether they are right or wrong. We’ll have to see what the evidence shows....

“My head and my heart have been consumed with this race since I filed as a candidate last year because I knew that our movement would be an uphill climb. I was ready for that challenge; what I was not ready for was the effect this pandemic would have on my family,” Linton wrote in an open letter posted on Twitter. She said the global health crisis is forcing her family to relocate out of state....

The New York Times wrote a story about Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams getting traffic tickets for a hit-and-run incident and the preferential treatment of their players in general, but don’t bother searching because you won’t be able to find it. Here’s a shameless Sporting News plug for the story! MORE: 5 things to watch | Numbers that Matter: Mississippi St. vs. Alabama | College football’s craziest fans After the Times tweeted it, Florida State fans and the phenomenon known as #FSUTwitter, quickly began marking the story as spam so Twitter would block the link from being shared....

The Seminoles nabbed a 24-23 win in New Orleans, spoiling Brian Kelly’s Tigers debut, in the wackiest of circumstances. Let’s break it all down… The Muffed Punt The festivities really got going deep in the fourth quarter. With Florida State holding a slim seven-point edge, the Seminoles punted the ball back to LSU for a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. MORE: Seminoles’ last-second PAT block seals victory over Tigers...

The school announced Everett Golson won’t start as he’s still dealing with lingering concussion problems. Sean Maguire will start in his place. MORE: Five things to watch for on Saturday | Best ACC running backs since 2000 The Seminoles will also be without running back Dalvin Cook due to an ankle injury. Maguire, a redshirt junior from New Jersey, has played sparingly this season. He’s completed 7 of 8 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown....

Supporters and opponents of more active U.S. engagement in Venezuela agree that voters in Florida, where a large population of Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants resides, could decide whether Maduro will see the goodwill he wants. Appearing soft on Maduro could hurt Democrats’ slim six-seat majority in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. “As of today, there is simply no reason to believe the Maduro regime is acting in good faith,” Elliott Abrams, who served as former President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela and Iran, said, according to the Associated Press....

DeSantis told reporters that the state would not be “going back” by reversing course on reopening despite the ongoing spike in new cases, which reached a single-day record of almost 9,600 new cases on Saturday. Although public health experts have said that reopening is likely a driving force in surges seen across multiple states, DeSantis remains unconvinced. “We’re not going back, closing things,” the governor said. “I don’t think that that really is what’s driving it....

In a video captured by an onlooker, the woman is heard shouting, “You guys are cult members. I’m not wearing a mask.” The incident occurred Sunday at a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Winter Springs, Florida, which is located north of Orlando in Seminole County. County officials announced on June 29 that residents would now be required to wear face coverings while in public in an effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus....