Friday, August 7, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1956, Elvis Presley played three shows at the Florida Theatre in St. Petersburg, drawing about 6,500 fans as Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel tore up the charts.

Our Et Cetera section below includes not one but two heroic water rescues, one of which earned someone the Employee of the Month award. That made us curious: Were you ever named Employee of the Month at a job, and if so, what did you do to earn it?

Today's sponsor is Mode Mobile, a technology company that gives investors the opportunity to back its mission to help people earn money from the time they already spend on their smartphones.

Uthmeier Subpoenas Fauci

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, alongside Louisiana and West Virginia, has subpoenaed Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday for records on the awards, grants, and book deals he collected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The subpoena covers January 2020 to the present and asks for records on a roughly $900,000 Dan David Foundation prize Fauci won in 2021, a federal grant to the University of Florida's Scripps Biomedical Research program, and book deals, professorships, and board seats.

"Government officials have a certain level of immunity in their official capacities, but if Fauci personally profited off of the 'guidance' he issued, that very well could have broken Florida law," Uthmeier said.

The investigation began after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released Fauci's pandemic diary ahead of a Senate hearing last month, where Fauci declined to answer Paul's questions. Fauci hasn't been charged with a crime; the subpoena is a demand for documents.

Python Hunter Nets 96, Wins $10,000

Tom Rahill removed 96 Burmese pythons from Everglades National Park to win the $10,000 grand prize in the 2026 Florida Python Challenge.

He did it two months after doctors told him to stay out of the swamp following two hip replacements. "I did go out there and I got that big snake for that person, I got those other snakes. It’s a blessing," Rahill said.

In all, 907 hunters from 30 states, Canada, and Vietnam removed 280 pythons from South Florida during the 10-day event, which ended July 19. Rahm Levinson caught the longest, at 16 feet, 5 inches.

Rahill founded the Swamp Apes, a nonprofit that takes veterans and first responders into the Everglades. He said the prize money will go back into the group and toward his 45th wedding anniversary.

SpaceX Rocket Stage Slams into Moon

The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 slammed into the moon at 2:35 a.m. Wednesday at about 5,400 mph.

The rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in January 2025, carrying Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander. Its spent stage was left circling between Earth and the moon until solar activity and gravity bent the path toward the moon's surface.

Nobody saw the crash with the naked eye, and it was too faint for a basic telescope. A telescope in Chile did catch the debris plume.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has "before" pictures of the site and should send back new ones within a week, research chemist Ken Kremer said.

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➤ Broward County: Superintendent Howard Hepburn expects "more closures" in the school district as 50,000 seats sit empty with more losses projected. The school board takes up closing and repurposing campuses on Aug. 25. (See Details)

➤ Jacksonville: Chaffee Trail Middle School logged 117 fights in the 2024-25 school year, more than any other school in Florida. The principal points to overcrowding at the new campus and says incidents have dropped 50% since boundary changes trimmed enrollment. (See Details)

➤ Cape Canaveral: A faulty main oxygen valve on one of seven BE-4 engines caused May's massive New Glenn explosion during a static fire test, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said. Modified valves are due by the end of the month. (More)

➤ Panama City: Preston Roulhac is charged with killing Lucas Daughtry, 23, hours after an officer handled a 911 call about Roulhac by phone instead of responding to the scene. The officer was fired, a sergeant demoted, and the family has hired an attorney. (See Details)

➤ Orlando: The Orlando Dreamers asked Orange County for $975 million in tourism tax money for a ballpark near SeaWorld, pitching $2 billion in private investment and 50,000 permanent jobs. County commissioners hold the final vote. (See Details)

➤ Statewide: Colorado State forecasters held their seasonal storm outlook at nine named storms, four hurricanes, and one major hurricane, among the quietest season projections since the university started forecasting in 1984. (See Report)

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➤ The Lake Mary All-Stars girls softball team won their first two games in the Little League World Series, but lost on Thursday, falling to the Clayton, North Carolina team, 5-2. Lake Mary will play Washington on Friday, with a rematch against Clayton if they win. (Scores)

➤ The Tampa Bay Buccaneers honored two Hillsborough County deputies at training camp this week, giving each a signed jersey and a game ball. Both were shot responding to a hostage situation in Ruskin last month. (More)

➤ Mariner High School in Cape Coral removed six football coaches this week, including head coach Tyran Jones, after students were left unsupervised during a team lock-in. The school said no hazing occurred, but the students involved face disciplinary action. (More)

➤ A Florida bettor turned a $15 wager into a $149,477 payout this week by hitting a perfect 15-leg MLB parlay. The boldest pick was the Cubs as home underdogs against the Dodgers. (More)

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➤ Whataburger returned to Orlando yesterday, 17 years after the chain left town. The first two cars in line and the first customer inside received free Whataburger for a year. (More)

➤ The historic Laura Street Trio buildings, long vacant in downtown Jacksonville, were sold to the Becovic Management Group for $125,100 at a court-ordered foreclosure auction Aug. 5. Owner Muhamed Becovic called the buildings "an important opportunity for the future of downtown Jacksonville." (See Details)

➤ Toucans on the Beach, the Mexico Beach seafood restaurant staple that was destroyed by Hurricane Michael in 2018, is set to reopen after Labor Day. Owner Rob Hammer's rebuilt two-story version is larger, built to withstand hurricanes, and keeps the popular she-crab soup menu item. (More)

➤ Urban Tech, a Jacksonville refurbisher, sells secondhand laptops pulled from Duval County schools for as little as $35 to $40, with a 50% discount for students and a 90-day warranty. (See Details)

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SpaceX Wireless Push Could Send EarnPhone Soaring

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➤ PriorityEvac is selling memberships to fly residents out of six Florida airports to Atlanta aboard private jets when a hurricane threatens for a cost of $1,250 a year per person or $4,400 for a family of four. Members must arrange their own trip home. (See Details)

➤ Good Samaritans Cody Swavely and Robert Baggs dove into the water after a Chevrolet Impala rolled off a New Smyrna Beach boat ramp. They pulled the drowning driver out of his seatbelt and to the surface as the car sank, saving his life. (Read Story)

➤ Meanwhile, a Titusville police officer dove into the Indian River Lagoon during a violent storm to save three paddleboarders—including two children—stranded near a bridge pylon at Parrish Park. Officer Jason Van Zile, a former lifeguard and Marine veteran, was just named the city's Employee of the Month. (More)

➤ Brevard Zoo is expecting two giraffe calves after confirming pregnancies in Kumi, 12, and Tisa, 4—both fathered by the herd's male, Mapenzie. The babies are expected sometime between fall and winter. (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. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ New research suggests avoiding three midlife health risks could mean nearly 13 more years of life without dementia. (Hear Details)

➤ You already know your phone drains focus and sleep, but doctors warn the hidden toll runs deeper. (Hear Episode)

➤ The FAA quietly rerouted noisy flights during Bohemian Grove's elite retreat, fueling accusations of preferential treatment from frustrated locals. (Listen Now)