Sabtu, 29 Agustus 2026

Rays Ballpark Moving Forward, Roman Telescope Launch, and Plane Drops in Surf

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1965, Gemini V splashed down after nearly eight days in orbit, taking the endurance record from the Soviets. It had lifted off from Cape Kennedy.

The Bowen Aquarium in Port Canaveral is planning a "unique shark experience that you have probably not seen at other aquariums.” Find out more in Et Cetera.

Which coffee is the healthiest? Seven in ten Americans drink it every week, and most of us settled on our "healthy" version years ago. But when we ranked the 10 most common coffee orders against what the research actually shows, the results were sobering. It turns out that a splash of creamer might be killing coffee's only health benefits. Even black coffee isn't without fault, because how you brew it matters more than you'd think. Today on The Flyover Podcast, Christopher counts down all 10 from worst to best and reveals the healthiest way to drink your morning cup. Tune in here!

Today’s sponsor, Convoy of Hope, is rushing emergency food and essential aid to families devastated by catastrophic flooding in Nepal—and The Flyover is matching the first $4,000 donated to help survivors in urgent need.

County Approves $2.3 Billion Rays Ballpark

Hillsborough County commissioners voted 5-2 Friday to commit $796 million to a new $2.3 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark.

The vote came a day after Tampa City Council approved the city's share 4-3. They will be responsible for an $80 million loan, down from the $180 million the Rays first requested.

The ballpark rises on Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus, across the highway from Raymond James Stadium. The county will own it and collect $4 million a year in rent on a 35-year lease that bars relocation.

The Rays are putting up about $1.37 billion and absorbing any cost overruns. The county's share comes from voter-approved sales tax revenue, tourist development taxes, other county funds, and federal disaster-recovery money.

Commissioners Joshua Wostal and Donna Cepeda voted no, with Wostal arguing that bond interest pushes the local taxpayer cost toward $1.3 billion.

The Rays say they hope to have the ballpark built within three years.

Dengue Cases Climb Across Florida

Reported dengue cases jumped in several Florida counties in the CDC's latest provisional data, with Hillsborough County climbing from 20 cases to 36.

Miami-Dade went from 49 to 67 and Broward from 11 to 12, while Lee County moved out of the CDC's "1 to 4" range to five cases. Palm Beach held at seven.

Most Florida dengue arrives with travelers. The state has logged 86 travel-associated cases this year and 23 acquired inside Florida, according to the Department of Health's latest arbovirus report.

Fifteen of those local cases are in Hillsborough County, where mosquito crews have run truck and aerial spraying.

Symptoms which include fever, muscle and joint pain, and sometimes a rash, can appear within 15 days of a bite. The state calls dengue painful and debilitating but rarely fatal.

NASA's Roman Telescope Launches Sunday

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to lift off Sunday at 7:26 a.m. EDT atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center.

The $4.3 billion observatory carries a mirror the size of Hubble's but a field of view more than 100 times wider, built to map billions of galaxies and hunt planets around distant stars.

It began life as someone else's hardware. The National Reconnaissance Office had an unused satellite sitting in a hangar and offered it to NASA, which pointed it at the sky instead of the ground.

Project scientist Julie McEnery said one month of Roman's Milky Way survey would take Hubble about a century.

NASA plans to livestream the launch beginning at 6:20 a.m. EDT Sunday on its website and YouTube channel.

Flying together with our sponsor

Provide life-saving aid for Nepal

Desperate flood survivors need your help ASAP!

Glacial collapse triggered violent flash flooding in Nepal — the impact was so severe, the avalanche initially registered as a 4.4-magnitude earthquake. Death toll has surpassed more than 500 — survivors are desperate!

You can rush aid to survivors — and The Flyover will be matching the first $4,000 donated to Convoy of Hope for this urgent need!

Floodwaters wiped out entire communities in moments, catching both local families and travelers off guard — as of this writing 1,900 people are missing — and a lake of rising water has formed, prompting fears of more flooding if it bursts its banks.

You can respond with emergency food and essential aid — and we’re matching every dollar of the first $4,000 donated, so please respond now.

And you can give with confidence: Convoy of Hope has served more than 350 million people facing disaster, hunger, and crisis. They are ranked by Forbes as one of America’s Top Charities.

Your compassionate gift now will offer hope and a way to rebuild for families who have lost everything.

➤ Volusia County: A helicopter dropped water on a boardwalk fire over Lake Ashby on Thursday. (See Photo)

➤ Bunnell: The city's $10 million City Hall and police station has leaked since it opened a year ago, and Vice Mayor John Rogers said commissioners were never told. City Manager Alvin Jackson called the problem ongoing; Bunnell is weighing a lawsuit against the contractors. (See Details)

➤ Leon County: An Aug. 18 upgrade to the county's jail management software produced inaccurate court records, ghost cases, and wrong detention information, pushing the local criminal justice system back to paper files and in-person hearings. The county plans to restore the old system this weekend. (See Details)

➤ Ocala: The College of Central Florida evacuated its campus Friday afternoon after a bomb threat. Ocala police are investigating and said no threat had been found. (More)

➤ Palm Beach County: Commissioners voted 7-0 Thursday for a one-year moratorium on large-scale AI data centers, defined as any site drawing 50 megawatts or more at peak demand, while the county rewrites zoning rules on where the facilities can go and how much noise they can make. (More)

➤ Destin: Fire Rescue crews left Friday morning for Texas as part of an engine strike team supporting the state's wildfire response, joining departments from across the region. (More)

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➤ Florida State opens its season tonight at home against New Mexico State at 7 p.m. on The CW, part of an eight-game Week 0 slate kicking off the college football season. (See Full Schedule)

➤ West Florida opened its first season as a Division I program with a 34-31 upset of No. 16 Southern Illinois on Thursday night. (More)

➤ Inter Miami hired former Argentine international Cristian "Kily" González as their new head coach during a five-match winless streak. González played for Inter Milan and Valencia in Europe and won Olympic gold with Argentina in 2004. (More)

➤ The Miami Dolphins traded wide receiver Tutu Atwell back to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for running back Jarquez Hunter, a second-year player out of Auburn who appeared in five games as a rookie. (More)

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➤ FREE Bottle: Most people blame age for stiff, achy joints. But what if the real culprit is a sticky protein called fibrin? Heal-n-Soothe uses powerful enzymes designed to help break it down. Flyover readers can request a FREE bottle while supplies last.

Flying together with our sponsor

Devastating floods in Nepal! You can respond

Your impact can be doubled to rush aid to flood survivors in Nepal!

The Flyover is matching the first $4,000 donated to Convoy of Hope to provide emergency food and essential aid for flood victims in the devastating natural disaster. Your compassionate gift now offers relief and hope in a desperate moment!

Landslides, flooding, fast-moving mud, and debris destroyed entire communities — more than 500 people have died, and 1,900 are missing. Survivors need your help now.

Give now — The Flyover will match the first $4,000 donated — and you’ll deliver help and hope for flood survivors!

➤ A pilot towing a banner over the beach dropped into the surf Thursday morning off New Smyrna Beach and climbed out of the flipped plane himself. Witnesses and a lifeguard walked him to shore and sat him in a lawn chair; one said the pilot had bumped his head but was fine. (See Video)

➤ The Bowen Aquarium breaks ground in December on 14 acres at Port Canaveral, with 10 buildings tracing Brevard's waters from the Atlantic to the St. Johns River. Exhibits will stick to species that live here, and a second-story deck doubles as a rocket-launch overlook. (See Details)

➤ EPCOT Food & Wine Festival opened Thursday at Walt Disney World and continues through Nov. 21. It brings back 30 dishes from past years and nightly Eat to the Beat concerts, including the Beach Boys and Boyz II Men, at no cost beyond park admission. (See List)

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➤ A Duke University doctor is drawing attention to one often-overlooked nutrient that may play an important role in heart health—and it’s not Omega-3s. Dr. Rick Cohen explains why standard blood work may miss this deficiency and shares a simple pre-shower technique designed to support a strong heart. Discover the #1 “Heart Strong” nutrient >>

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.

➤ The 10 most common coffee orders are ranked from healthiest to worst, with one surprising twist. (Hear More)

➤ Dolly Parton's music is surging across streaming platforms following her death this week at age 80. (Listen Now)

➤ Two men bought tickets to a Vienna museum, then smashed a display case and walked out with a 200-carat diamond necklace. (Podcast Available)