The morning edition

NTSB: Amazon cargo jet landed long at MIA, reversers never deployed. Hedman returns as Bolts open.

Friday, October 2, 2026

Friday, October 2, 2026

Good Morning! The University of North Florida welcomed its first 2,000 students to its Jacksonville campus on this day in 1972. The new school started with 44 faculty members and 25 undergraduate programs. Its first commencement, the following June, sent off 34 graduates.

In This Issue: the NTSB's preliminary report on the Amazon cargo jet that overran an MIA runway, a Margate man convicted in the murder-for-hire of an airport mechanic, a record-tying 19th death warrant for an inmate who killed his cellmate to reach death row, and Rick Ross's arrest on domestic battery charges in Miami Beach. Plus: Roll Call's ranking of U.S. Rep. Darren Soto as the nation's most vulnerable House Democrat and a Florida TaxWatch look at what data centers could mean for local tax bases.

Weather: Showers and thunderstorms are possible statewide Friday, most likely in the Keys and later in the day around Jacksonville and Pensacola. Highs are in the upper 80s to near 90°, with lows mostly in the mid-70s to low 80s. (NWS)

Tropical: No Florida tropical watches or warnings. NHC’s 8 p.m. Thursday outlook gives the remnants of Fay, southeast of Bermuda, a low 10% chance of redeveloping, with no threat to Florida. (National Hurricane Center)

Rip Current Report: High rip current risk Friday from Palm Beach through Miami-Dade and along the Panhandle from Pensacola to Franklin County. The risk is moderate from Nassau through Martin and low on the Gulf coast from Levy to Collier. (NWS)

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NTSB Preliminary Report Details How Amazon Cargo Jet Overran MIA Runway

The NTSB on Thursday released a 12-page preliminary report on the Sept. 6 crash of an Amazon Boeing 767 cargo plane at Miami International Airport. It names no cause, but says the jet touched down about 3,750 feet down the 9,360-foot runway at roughly 184 mph, left the pavement at about 130 mph, and hit a van carrying plane-cleaning workers and an SUV. Five of the seven cleaning employees in the van died and five other people were hurt.

Flight data showed the speed brakes stayed stowed and the thrust reversers did not deploy. Wheel brakes were applied and then released after about eight seconds, and engine thrust rose to go-around levels with about 930 feet of runway left, according to the report.

Margate Man Convicted in Murder-for-Hire Killing of Airport Mechanic

A federal jury convicted Avin Seetaram, 27, of murder-for-hire, stalking resulting in death, and related firearms counts in the 2023 killing of Suren Seetal, 36. Seetal was a mechanic at Opa-locka and Fort Lauderdale Executive airports who also ran a fireworks business. He disappeared Nov. 2, 2023, and his body was later found in the Everglades.

Prosecutors say Seetaram conspired with two other men. According to an arrest affidavit, one of them owed Seetal about $315,000. A first attempt on Seetal's life in July 2023 ended in an exchange of gunfire in which no one was hit.

DeSantis Signs Record-Tying 19th Death Warrant for Inmate Who Killed Cellmate to Reach Death Row

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed his 19th death warrant of the year, tying the record, for James Robertson, 63. Robertson is to die by lethal injection at noon on Oct. 13 at Florida State Prison for the 2008 killing of his cellmate, Frank Hart, at Charlotte Correctional Institution. He says he did it to get the better conditions on death row.

Robertson is the first of two executions set for that day. William Lee Thompson, 74, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote to the governor that by Robertson's own account the killing was unprovoked.

Rick Ross Arrested on Domestic Battery Charges in Miami Beach

Rick Ross was booked Thursday on battery and battery-by-strangulation charges (domestic violence). The alleged attack was at his Star Island home in late August. He pleaded not guilty and denies the allegations.

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❖ Miami-Dade — World Cup legacy soccer field breaks ground in Miami Gardens: FIFA and the Miami Host Committee broke ground Monday on a new permanent soccer pitch at Walt Frazier Park in Miami Gardens, a legacy project from the 2026 World Cup. The field is expected to be finished by summer 2027.

❖ Tampa Bay — Artists turn 25 Sulphur Springs storm drains into litter-fighting murals: Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful had local artists paint 25 storm drains in Tampa's Sulphur Springs neighborhood, a public-art push to remind residents that whatever goes down the drain ends up in Tampa Bay.

❖ Broward — Fort Lauderdale's Victoria Park floods again as drainage fix runs to 2028: Thursday's downpour and king tides left Victoria Park streets underwater for hours, while the neighborhood's stormwater overhaul is still under construction: 43,000 feet of pipe, 360 drainage structures and a new pump station, due in early 2028.

❖ Palm Beach — Jupiter launches its own fire rescue after 42 years: Jupiter Fire Rescue began serving the town Thursday, taking over from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, which had covered Jupiter for 42 years.

❖ Orlando — Zaza Cuban Comfort Food opens SoDo flagship on Orange Avenue: Local Cuban chain Zaza opened its 11th location Wednesday at 1621 S. Orange Ave. in Orlando's SoDo district — a roughly 2,500-square-foot flagship with a beer-and-wine bar, space for community events and longer hours aimed partly at nearby hospital workers. A grand-opening celebration is set for Oct. 10, with a planned $1,000 gift to The Lifeboat Project.

❖ Jacksonville — Cummer Museum exhibit curated by UNF students wins Southeastern Museums bronze: The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens earned a 2026 Southeastern Museums Conference Bronze Award for "Touring the Landscape: Art, Travel and the Shaping of American Identity," guest-curated by University of North Florida Hicks Honors College students. The show, with works by Cropsey, Heade and Homer, runs through Nov. 29.

❖ Gulf Coast — $25 million project will turn Venice canal back into a winding creek: Work starts Friday on the Alligator Creek Stream Restoration Project in Venice, which will reshape about 2.3 miles of a straightened canal into a natural, meandering stream to cut nitrogen and sediment pollution. NOAA is covering $14.5 million, and completion is expected in fall 2028.

❖ North Florida — Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville set to reopen Nov. 23: Closed since early 2025 for a major renovation and expansion, the Florida Museum of Natural History on UF's Cultural Plaza will welcome the public back Nov. 23. The project adds education space, a redesigned facade and gift shop, the Inspire Gallery, and upgrades to the Butterfly Rainforest.

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❖ Vance in Lakeland: Nixon "doesn't belong in America" — At a Lakeland airport-hangar rally for Byron Donalds and Ashley Moody, Vice President J.D. Vance told Senate nominee Angie Nixon, a self-described democratic socialist, to "get the hell out" of the country; Nixon fired back within minutes that she isn't going anywhere.

❖ Uthmeier sues Pfizer over COVID vaccine marketing — Attorney General James Uthmeier filed suit Thursday in St. Lucie County accusing Pfizer and CEO Albert Bourla of deceptive marketing of the COVID-19 vaccine under the state's unfair-trade-practices law. Pfizer says the claims have no merit and its vaccine statements were accurate and science-based.

❖ Democrats out-register GOP in September — a first in five years — Florida Democrats added 29,633 new voters in September to Republicans' 29,140, per analyst Michael Pruser, their first monthly edge in five years; the GOP still holds a lead of roughly 1.5 million registered voters ahead of Monday's registration deadline.

❖ Roll Call: Soto is the nation's most vulnerable House Democrat — Roll Call ranks U.S. Rep. Darren Soto as the most endangered Democratic incumbent, with Democrats conceding Florida's new district lines set him up for a tough race.

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❖ Tampa General takes over DeSoto Memorial with $45M pledge — DeSoto County's only hospital, the 49-bed DeSoto Memorial in Arcadia, became TGH DeSoto on Thursday under a 49-year lease that hands operations to Tampa General's academic health system. Tampa General, picked by the hospital district over bids from AdventHealth and NorthStar, has committed at least $45 million over 10 years for technology, expanded services and specialist access; current staff stay on, and the system's air ambulance fleet will serve the Arcadia hospital to move patients who need higher-level care.

❖ Florida jobless claims dip to close out September — New unemployment filings in Florida fell by 329 to 4,955 for the week ending Sept. 26, down from 5,284 the week before, extending a mostly quiet stretch for the state's job market. Nationally, initial claims dropped about 4.8% to roughly 156,700, a bit more than federal analysts expected and well below the same week last year; Florida's most recent jobless rate was 4.5% in August.

❖ Miami-Dade seeks $750M from Doral incinerator operator — Miami-Dade County is suing Reworld Dade and its parent, Reworld Holding Corp. (formerly Covanta), for more than $750 million over the February 2023 fire that destroyed the county-owned Doral trash incinerator. The 67-page complaint, filed Sept. 28, alleges workers left sprinkler valves closed (one for about a year), let fire equipment decay and ignored repeated fire-rescue violation notices and an insurer's warning weeks before the blaze; Reworld has previously blamed the county for not funding upgrades at the aging plant.

❖ TaxWatch: data centers could fatten local tax bases, with safeguards — A new Florida TaxWatch report finds a wave of data centers could deliver significant gains to local tax bases, but urges protections for taxpayers, water supplies and electric rates — and warns local officials not to over-expand services or slash millage on the new revenue.

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Hedman back on the ice as Lightning drop opener at MSG

Captain Victor Hedman played his first NHL game since stepping away in March to address his mental health and said he returned "energized," though Tampa Bay fell 5-1 to the Rangers in its season debut.

Winless Bucs host Packers in Battle of the Bays

Still searching for their first win, the Buccaneers welcome a struggling Green Bay team to Tampa on Sunday as talk of Todd Bowles' job security grows louder.

Winless Dolphins run into Flores' Vikings defense

Miami visits Minnesota on Sunday to face a dominant defense run by Brian Flores, the Dolphins' former head coach.

Rays help push MLB attendance to best mark since 2017

League attendance rose for a fourth straight year to 71.75 million, its highest total since 2017, with Tampa Bay credited as a boost.

Scoreboard

Thu Oct 1 — Rangers 5, Lightning 1 FINAL at Madison Square Garden. Sharks 4, Panthers 3 (OT) FINAL at SAP Center. No Florida team played in TNF or MLB Thursday.

Schedule (all times ET)

Fri Oct 2: No Florida pro or FBS games scheduled.

Sat Oct 3: UCF at Houston, noon, ESPN2

Sat Oct 3: Florida at Missouri, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Sat Oct 3: Virginia at Florida State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2

Sat Oct 3: Texas Southern at FAU, 6 p.m., ESPN+

Sat Oct 3: ALDS Game 1, Yankees at Rays, 6:30 p.m., TBS/truTV

Sat Oct 3: Capitals at Lightning, 7 p.m., The Spot/ESPN+

Sat Oct 3: Miami at Clemson, 7:30 p.m., ABC

Sat Oct 3: Temple at USF, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

Sun Oct 4: Jaguars at Bengals, 1 p.m., CBS

Sun Oct 4: Packers at Buccaneers, 1 p.m., FOX

Sun Oct 4: Dolphins at Vikings, 4:05 p.m., FOX

Sun Oct 4: Panthers at Ducks, 8 p.m., Scripps Sports

More Scores: NFL | MLB | NHL | NCAAF | WNBA

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Florida regular averaged $4.196 a gallon Thursday (AAA, as of 10/1/26). That is down about 5.7 cents from Wednesday ($4.253) and 18.6 cents from a week ago ($4.382), and roughly 21.8 cents under the national average of $4.414. West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the most expensive metro at $4.369 (Naples $4.340). Panama City is the cheapest at $3.971 (Pensacola $3.974).

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❖ Tampa deputy frees hawk trapped under pool cover: Bodycam video shows a Tampa-area deputy freeing a hawk that got stuck under a pool cover, and the bird got away unhurt.

❖ Waffles, Coconut and friends go home to the Gulf: A crowd at Inlet Beach watched Thursday as five sea turtles named Waffles, Bashful, Buzz, Coconut and Pepper were released after recovering at the Gulfarium Care Center from accidental hookings. Some needed only a few days of care, while others needed surgery.

❖ Jupiter firefighter honored for rinkside save: Jupiter Fire Rescue firefighter Jessica Herman was recognized by the Town Council for helping save retired NYPD officer Joe Gomes after he went into cardiac arrest during a hockey tournament. The honor came as the new department answered its first calls.

❖ Shelter pup Mal becomes a bomb-sniffing K-9: Mal, a Belgian Malinois rescued from a shelter, was trained by Fort Lauderdale officer Doug Ng-A-Kien and has joined the department as a bomb-detection dog.

❖ Callaway Elementary opens a new STEAM lab: Callaway Elementary, one of 20 Florida schools picked for a $50,000 classroom-makeover grant, opened a lab Thursday with 3D printers, VR headsets and robotics kits.

❖ Skydivers skim the water in Zephyrhills: Top U.S. skydivers came to Skydive City for the national canopy piloting championships, where the real test starts after the chute opens: steering across a water course near the ground.

Today’s Quote

"Come forth into the light of things, / Let Nature be your teacher."

— William Wordsworth

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waning gibbous Friday, ahead of the last quarter moon Saturday, Oct. 3, at 9:25 a.m. EDT (USNO).

Sunrise / Sunset: In Orlando on Friday, sunrise is at 7:18 a.m. and sunset at 7:12 p.m. EDT, for about 11 hours, 54 minutes of daylight. Times vary across the state, and Pensacola is on Central time.

Gardening Notes: UF/IFAS’s South Florida Gardening Calendar lists beans, broccoli, carrots, collards, lettuce, green onions, peppers, radishes, spinach and tomatoes as easy October crops. It suggests dill, fennel, parsley and cilantro for herbs.

Coastal / Red Tide: FWC’s latest posted update is still Sept. 25, which found very low levels in Gulf County, background levels in Southwest Florida and none on the East Coast. The Oct. 2 report was not yet posted as of 9:58 p.m. Thursday.

Florida by the Numbers

Florida has 38 state forests and one ranch, covering more than 1,236,322 acres, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Forest Service.

Today’s Poll

An NTSB preliminary report says the Amazon cargo jet that overran a Miami International Airport runway on Sept. 6 struck a van carrying airport cleaning workers, killing five. Do you support stricter limits on vehicles and workers near the ends of active runways at Florida airports?

Yesterday’s Results

Citadel founder Ken Griffin is giving $3 billion to launch a Carnegie Mellon campus in Wynwood. Do you support major private gifts funding new university campuses in Florida?

Strongly support 33% · Somewhat support 17% · Oppose 25% · Not sure 25%