New blood

Published: Aug. 30, 2021, 4:15 a.m.

Tomorrow is Rick Flagg’s final episode before retiring; Sunrise 2.0 with Trimmel Gomes will premiere next Monday.

Also on today’s Sunrise:

— About that mask mandate; the one the Governor tried to ban. Tallahassee Circuit Judge John Cooper decided Ron DeSantis' order is unconstitutional and local school boards are free to adopt mask mandates WITHOUT a parental opt-out if they think that's the best way to contain the COVID 19 outbreak.

— The newly approved "Parents Bill of Rights" that the Department of Education tried to use to force school districts to do their bidding. In effect, the state has been hoisted on its own petard.

— For the third week in a row, the Department of Health reports 150,000 cases and an average of more than 200 deaths per day. Or as the Governor describes it, a seasonal fluctuation.

— What did DeSantis have to say about those deaths during an appearance on FOX? He was never asked. But he did blame Joe Biden for letting COVID-19 cross the border.

— One of the Governor's medical advisers is recommending a horse deworming medicine to treat COVID 19. The company that makes the drug says that's pretty stupid.

— A woman who signed up to be a state prison guard is killed while training to use firearms.

— And a Quincy man who worked as a federal prison guard will spend two years in jail after admitting he raped female inmates in Marianna and Tallahassee.

— And finally, two Florida person stories: A Florida Man and Woman are wounded during a shootout between a boat and jet skiers, and a Florida Woman goes to jail for taking a whizz outside her car.