Selasa, 18 Agustus 2026

Voting Day, Miami Ranked No. 7, and Publix Pulls Plug on Express Lane Limits

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 2008, Tropical Storm Fay crossed the Florida Keys, the first of a record four landfalls it would make in the state before soaking Florida with flooding rain.

Before you pour the coffee, go take a look at your thermostat. Do you know why it's set to that number, or did you pick it years ago and never touch it again? You're not alone. A federal energy survey found that only 12% of American households program their thermostats to match their actual schedules. Everyone else runs one flat number all day on the single biggest expense in their power bill. There's a specific setting, a certain number of degrees for a certain number of hours, that unlocks real savings with no new equipment. Ayla has the numbers on today's podcast. Tune in here!

Later today, watch for a message from our partner Fisher Investments on 13 common retirement investing mistakes that could quietly cost you over time, and how to spot them before they derail your long-term plans.

We're always interested in products that take an everyday task and simply make it easier. That's what caught our attention about today's sponsor, the Sonic Glow Brush. If you've ever wished brushing your teeth was quicker without sacrificing a thorough clean, this is worth a look.

Nearly 2 Million Ballots Cast Early

Floridians had cast 1,913,737 mail and early-voting ballots as of 11 a.m. Monday, a day before the state's primary. That's roughly 14.2% of registered voters. Republicans accounted for 870,850 of those ballots, Democrats 806,561, and more than 236,000 came from voters registered with no party or a minor party.

Nearly 143,000 more Republicans turned out in person during early voting. Democrats returned 78,745 more ballots by mail.

More than 852,000 mail ballots were still outstanding as of Sunday, and county offices can accept them until polls close. Eleven of the state's largest counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, and Duval, kept early-voting sites open an extra day.

Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. Florida runs a closed primary, so voters can pick only from their own party's candidates, along with any nonpartisan races on the ballot.

Murder-for-Hire Trial Opens in Jacksonville

The killing of a Microsoft manager on a Jacksonville Beach road was an ambush arranged by his ex-wife and her husband, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.

Jared Bridegan, 33, was shot several times on Feb. 16, 2022, after stepping out of his SUV to move a tire from the road. His 2-year-old daughter, strapped in the back seat, wasn't hurt.

Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, is on trial in Duval County for first-degree murder and solicitation. Prosecutor Christina Stifler said Bridegan and ex-wife Shanna Gardner had fought over the twins since their 2015 divorce, as well as his Mormon faith.

"The killer was a stranger to Jared Bridegan. The murder was personal," Stifler said.

Gardner, 39, faces her own trial in September; the accused gunman goes to trial in 2027.

Miami's Roster Tops $40 Million

The University of Miami is spending more than $40 million on its football roster this season, one of the priciest in the country.

Quarterback Darian Mensah, the Duke transfer, is the top earner on Mario Cristobal's roster. LSU leads all programs at a reported $50 million.

Florida ranks 18th nationally at $28.1 million, with Georgia Tech transfer quarterback Aaron Philo as its top-paid player. Six Gators are expected to clear $1 million as the program tries to move past a 4-8 season.

Nineteen teams are spending more than $27 million this year, and 11 of them are SEC schools.

Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham, whose roster ranks 11th at $31.3 million, has questioned whether that pace can hold. "I can tell you right now, with NIL rising 20%, 30%, 40% a year, it's not sustainable if we stay on the path we're on right now."

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➤ St. Johns County: Lightning likely sparked a roof fire at an assisted living facility on County Road 210 Sunday night, forcing 127 residents out while 83 sheltered in place. No one was hurt, and crews knocked the flames down later that night. (See Details)

➤ Fruitland Park: An Amazon delivery driver was found unresponsive in her van on Clark Road after a neighbor reported it had sat outside the house for four hours. Jaylene Vargas Gonzalez died at a hospital, and her cause of death is still unknown. (More)

➤ Sunny Isles Beach: A 41-year-old mother was arrested after police said she left her 6-year-old son alone at Town Center Park for nearly an hour. The boy told a witness he was scared and hadn't eaten since breakfast. (See Details)

➤ Statewide: Florida has logged 417 cases of cyclosporiasis this year through Aug. 8, nearly double last year's total of 210. The stomach bug spreads through contaminated produce, and health officials haven't pinpointed an exact source. (See Report)

➤ Key West: A Monroe County Tax Collector's Office employee was arrested and fired after troopers said she issued an ID card under a false name to a Nicaraguan man under a deportation order. Sandi Marie Wensel, 37, faces three felonies. (More)

➤ Brevard County: A 54-year-old man is accused of emailing a judge that she'd "made several poor decisions" and that he was coming for her, hours after being served a temporary restraining order. Deputies arrested Michael Barnard on Friday. (See Details)

➤ Central Florida: Two planes carrying more than 5,000 pounds of medical supplies left for Bogotá on Monday, a week after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake killed nearly 300 people in Colombia. Attorney Dan Newlin organized the flights with AdventHealth. (Read Story)

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➤ Miami football opened at No. 7 in the first AP Top 25 poll of the season, the only ranked team from Florida. The Hurricanes were the 2025 national championship runner-up but received only one first-place vote. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, Miami football dismissed wide receiver Cam Vaughn from the program yesterday without giving a reason. Vaughn transferred from West Virginia in January after catching 35 passes for 541 yards last season. (More)

➤ Florida State's Jack Whaley won the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club, defeating Stanford's Jay Leng Jr. in the final. The win earns him a spot in the 2027 Masters. (More)

➤ Jacksonville Jaguars fans kicked off football season Saturday with the first-ever Quarterback Crawl, a bar hop through 12 spots in the San Marco neighborhood where participants dressed up as starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Tennis

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➤ Solar company bankruptcies, most recently installer Freedom Forever in April, have left Central Florida homeowners with panels and no installer to call. One local company charges those customers $150 for a first service visit, half its usual rate. (See Details)

➤ Florida gas prices slipped a penny last week to a $3.87 average Sunday, even as oil prices rose. That's 79 cents higher than a year ago. The national average went the other way, climbing 5 cents to $4.07. (More)

➤ Orlando's metro area logged both the highest business startup rate (14.14%) and the highest closure rate (11.49%) among the nation's 50 largest metros in a new Squarespace ranking that placed it 11th overall. Jacksonville was 12th, Tampa 14th. (See Report)

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A Small Upgrade You'll Use Every Day

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Learn more about the Sonic Glow Brush and see if it's right for you today.

➤ A man who stopped to pet a dog on Jacksonville Beach collapsed from a heart attack Aug. 12. Jennifer Carde, a physician assistant out for a sunrise run, did CPR for five minutes, helping to save his life. Lance Schellpeper then survived a quadruple bypass. (Read Story)

➤ Publix express lanes have dropped the 10-item limit, with the grocer saying the change gives workers flexibility to manage lines and cut wait times. Not every store has made the switch yet, and some shoppers aren't sold. (More)

➤ Ocala recorded the biggest population boom in the country, new Census Bureau migration numbers show. The figures track where Americans moved between July 2024 and July 2025, a stretch during which Florida stayed a top landing spot for movers. (See Details)

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➤ What’s the Best Breakfast Food in 2026? Oatmeal, eggs, cereal, coffee…The best breakfast choice may not be what you think and how you prepare it could make all the difference. A leading cardiologist reveals his surprising breakfast recommendation, plus one simple morning change that may help support a healthy metabolism and your weight-management goals. See the Full List of Breakfast Recommendations >> "

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:

➤ Most Americans never program their thermostats, and it's costing them. There's an exact degrees-and-hours setting that can trim real money off heating and cooling costs. (Hear Setting)

➤ Newly declassified files show the FBI stumbled onto former Rep. Eric Swalwell's affair with a suspected Chinese spy while trying to recruit her as a confidential informant. (Hear Story)

➤ A popular Maryland state park is partially closed after rabid beavers attacked two teens. Experts say there are warning signs to watch for. (Hear Warning Signs)