Here's the news you may have missed over the weekend:
Weekly COVID Update
The state's downtown in coronavirus cases and death continued last week according to data from the Florida Department of Health.
The state added 37,772 new cases last week, the lowest since the beginning of July. For the first time in six weeks, the majority of new cases were not among children under 12. Florida also added 1,719 deaths, the last time the state's death toll was below 2,000 was the week of Aug. 20.
Statewide, the positivity rate for new cases declined to 6.5% after hitting a peak of 19.8% the week of Aug. 13-19.
Hospitalizations also fell to 5,414, down almost 28% since last Friday.
5th Women's March focuses on reproductive rights after new Texas abortion law
Thousands of rallygoers in hundreds of cities across the country are gathering Saturday for the 5thWomen's March, focusing on abortion justice. Advocates in Okaloosa County joined the march for the first time, as well. Read that story here.
Nelson touts ‘new era of space activity’
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, a former U.S. senator from Florida, said Friday an increase in space activity — dominated by private sector launches — is having a bigger impact on the state than prior programs. Read about that here.
CivicCon speaker says the 'burbs deserve a makeover
Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, director of the MS in Urban Design and host of the "Redesigning Cities" podcast, Ellen Dunham-Jones will be speaking next week at CivicCon. WUWF's Bob Barrett talked to her about suburban retrofitting. Read more here.
Pensacola State's truck school aims to ease driver shortage
A new truck driver training facility at Santa Rosa Industrial Park East in East Milton broke ground last month. When completed, the $7.8 million facility will teach anyone who wants to learn how to drive a big rig. Read more about it here.
What are the 'Pandora Papers'?
An exposé from the work of more than 600 journalists around the world dubbed the "Pandora Papers," sheds new light into the shadowy world of offshore banking — and the high-powered elites who use the system to their benefit. Read more from NPR here.