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Thursday, January 9, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1978, pop singer A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys was born in West Palm Beach.

Today is a National Day of Mourning honoring James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, the only U.S. President born in Georgia and the country's longest-living President at age 100.

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Trump Proposes 'Gulf of America'

President-elect Donald Trump held a wide-ranging press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach on Tuesday. Among other remarks, he suggested a bold rebranding of the Gulf of Mexico.

"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring," Trump said. "The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name, and it's appropriate."

Shortly afterward, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on X that she had instructed her staff to begin drafting legislation to change the gulf's name.

Vaccine Grand Jury: No Evidence of Criminal Activity

According to a report unsealed on Tuesday, a statewide grand jury convened at Gov. Ron DeSantis' request to investigate "any and all wrongdoing" concerning COVID-19 vaccines did not find any evidence of criminal activity.

"Not finding any indictable criminal activity does not mean we did not find any problems. On the contrary, there are profound and serious issues involving the process of vaccine development and safety surveillance in the United States," the grand jury wrote in its final report.

Based on its findings, the grand jury made policy recommendations, including increasing clinical trial transparency and banning pharmaceutical drug advertisements.

DeSantis urged the investigation in 2022, ahead of his bid for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

New Glenn Rocket to Launch Friday

Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, is preparing to conduct the first launch of New Glenn, a reusable rocket intended to rival SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.

The company announced late Monday that it was aiming for an early Friday liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 36 during a three-hour window that opens at 1 a.m.

New Glenn is a 98-meter-tall rocket, about the same height as a 30-story building, capable of delivering payloads of up to 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit.

Blue Origin's approach to recovering boosters is similar to SpaceX's use of drone ships. The recovery ship Jacklyn, named for company founder Jeff Bezos's mother, has already left port to prepare for the retrieval attempt.

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➤ Statewide: Weeks after the release of a congressional report detailing sexual misconduct findings against former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, he told the Tampa Bay Times he's "starting to think about running for governor" in 2026. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Mooney filed a proposal that would designate the flamingo as Florida's official state bird, replacing the northern mockingbird. The bill also proposes naming the Florida scrub jay as the official state songbird. (See Photos)

➤ Miami: Valentin Tomás Morales, 21, was arrested and charged with making written or electronic threats to kill or cause bodily harm against Gov. Ron DeSantis. Agents were tipped off about a concerning post on the social media platform X. (More)

➤ Tampa: The Police Department and other law enforcement agencies are making security preparations ahead of the city's annual Gasparilla Pirate Invasion event, with concerns high after the New Orleans terrorist attack. (See Video)

➤ Hillsborough County: State Attorney Suzy Lopez was sworn in on Tuesday for the start of her first full term. She has served in the position since 2022, following Gov. Ron DeSantis' suspension of Andrew Warren. DeSantis and U.S. Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi attended. (See Video)

➤ Palm Bay: The city council voted to abandon efforts to fix the municipal water department's equipment to allow for fluoridation of the water provided to residents. (More)

➤ Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead has been placed on the team's non-football injury list because of a neck injury caused by a car accident. He is expected to miss the postseason. (More)

➤ Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point scored a game-winning goal in the final minute of the match against the Carolina Hurricanes. (Watch Video)

➤ Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic scored a season-high 20 points off the bench to help the Heat defeat the Golden State Warriors 114-98. (Watch Highlights)

Yesterday's results: NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer

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➤ Fort Myers-based Alico is abandoning its citrus growing operations, reflecting challenges Florida's signature crops face following hurricanes and tree diseases. The company saw a 73% production decline over the past decade. (More)

➤ Estero-based global rental car giant Hertz added Chris Berg, former president of The Home Depot, and Doria Holbrook, a former executive at TikTok and Amazon, to its executive team. (More)

➤ RosaNegra, a Latin restaurant from Mexico, opened its first U.S. location in Miami. The high-energy spot is known for flaming tomahawks and fire-show dancers. (More)

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➤ A 10-foot, 460-pound great white shark nicknamed "Crystal," tracked by a group studying ocean predators, recently surfaced off Sarasota's coast, indicating her migration through the Gulf of Mexico. (See Photos)

➤ Tampa's Busch Gardens and Orlando's SeaWorld are offering free admission to children under 5 throughout 2025. (See Details)

➤ A cat convention coming to Brevard County on Jan. 25 and 26 at the Space Coast Convention Center will feature meet-and-greets with cat celebrities, as well as guest speakers discussing topics such as harness training, outdoor enclosures, and rescue efforts. (More)

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