WFLA Articles: August 19, 2021

USF Health helping Tampa General Hospital during COVID-19 surge Texas Supreme Court rejects governor’s request, allowing mask mandate for now OnlyFans to ban pornography starting in October Record delta wave hits kids, raises fear as US schools open Man claims $500,000 Powerball prize day before it was set to expire Lambda and B.1.621: New COVID variants could be the worst yet, doctor warns ‘A real miracle’: WWII vet searches years for girl who wrote letter of thanks; finally gets wish in surprise of a lifetime ‘Unruly’ passengers arrested at Tennessee airport after refusing to wear masks on flights Only 7K evacuated from Afghanistan this week, much lower than goal J&J booster shot? What to know if you got the one-dose vaccine School districts, parents, Biden administration all looking to thwart Gov. DeSantis’ school mask policy Gov. DeSantis says mask mandate at Hillsborough County schools is political, not justified All 5th grade classes at Florida school going virtual due to ‘large number’ of COVID cases, quarantined students Ongoing red tide taking a toll on birds in Sarasota County Buccaneers won’t require fans to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination for games at Raymond James Stadium 2 Tampa Bay hospitals add extra space outside of ER to help with influx of patients 2 red tide-impacted sea turtles released by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Coast Guard crews return to Clearwater following Haiti rescue operations Hazmat situation causing evacuations in Holiday, fire rescue says Florida COVID ICU nurse makes emotional plea in new vaccination PSA Despite rising COVID-19 cases, travel on the rise at Tampa International Airport Judge denies Gov. DeSantis’ motion to dismiss lawsuit from families challenging school mask mandate bans Suspect involved in DC bomb threat surrenders Pasco parents should expect to see a spike in reported COVID cases in schools Tampa Electric customers used record amounts of energy on Wednesday, company says Crooks hold info ransom after breaking into Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County computer system Iowa woman sentenced to 25 years in hate attacks on 2 kids 3-year-old nearly drowned in pool while babysitter left 6 kids unattended, Florida police say Old Navy eliminates separate ‘Plus Size’ sections in stores Chick-Fil-A to open this fall at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Pregnant woman dies after being severely burned when husband refueled ethanol fire pot Missing 11-month-old Indiana girl found dead, investigators say Tennessee elementary school teacher dies of COVID-19 complications Mask up: Where you need to mask up when you go out in Florida Single-family rents spiked 7.5% in June, sharpest increase since 2005 Suspects told pregnant Texas murder victim they wanted her ‘to feel the pain of a miscarriage’ Monoclonal antibody treatment sites opening in Tampa Bay to treat COVID patients 2 police officers wounded in New Mexico shooting, officials say US to automatically wipe out more than $5.8B in student loan debt FAA proposes $500K+ in fines against unruly passengers for alleged death threats, apparent sexual assault Toys R Us stores opening inside Macy’s locations across US California becomes 1st state to require proof of COVID vaccination or negative test for indoor events over 1K people Breakthrough Medical Treatment for E.D. – No Pills, No Injections People Migrating to Florida need to explore health care options Watch out for sea turtle hatchlings! FWC offers advice on how Watch: Police, mom act fast when baby gets locked in hot car Want to win $100K? Morgan & Morgan looking for new catchy jingle “The Biggest Loser” trainer Dolvett Quince talks new podcast Actress Marsai Martin talks “Paw Patrol: The Movie” and “Black-ish” My Big Fat Fabulous Life Spin Cast Says Disney Channel Movie transports you into the lives of this small Indian family Destination Delicious: Lebanese belly dancing Adaptive Music Teacher named Hillsborough District Teacher of the Year 25-Percent of School Don’t Have School Nurses Destination Delicious: Lebanon Doctors Warn about dueling surge in Delta Variant and respiratory virus commonly seen in winter Watch Now: Titans vs. Buccaneers in Spanish on WTTA Great 38 Easy Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffin Recipe USF establishes Institute of Microbiomes Epic Chef Feeds more than 1 Million Hungry People ‘All hands on deck’ to get American citizens out of Afghanistan Daytona Beach police holds wreath-laying ceremony to honor fallen officer Clearwater man arrested after trying to steal Snickers bar at knifepoint, deputies say Former Tampa Bay real estate agent arrested for stealing Bentley from Clearwater Beach home, police say Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near US Capitol Newsfeed Now: Doctor accused of issuing fake mask exemptions to students; Little girl’s airplane chat goes viral DeSantis announces new Regeneron site in Pasco County Natural Birth Control Essentials Durans Divine Pineapple Poundcake Protein-Packed Snacking 3 kittens dumped in trash compactor rescued by workers in Florida Former Parkland deputy: ‘I did the best I could’ New ‘Jeopardy!’ host apologizes for past sexist comments made on his podcast Did Trump’s Taliban deal tie Biden’s hands? Whoa, baby! Scarlett Johansson, Colin Jost welcome baby boy Judge to hear Florida parents’ lawsuit over DeSantis’ ban on school mask mandates Tracking the Tropics: Hurricane Grace makes landfall near Tulum, Mexico; Henri forecast to become hurricane by Friday Tampa police officer fires at suspect who pointed gun at them Fire causes significant damage to Tampa mattress store ‘I’ve never seen a death like this’: Missing family, pet dog found dead in California forest, sheriff says MAX DEFENDER 8 FORECAST: Cooling slowly with later round of storms fading