Regional

SCOTUS to weigh Florida Medicaid fight

TALLAHASSEE — The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to take up a dispute about how much money Florida’s Medicaid program should be able to recoup after a legal settlement involving a Lee County girl who suffered catastrophic injuries when she was struck by a truck after getting off a school bus in 2008.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., leans on a stack of documents pertaining to campaign finance reform during a Capitol Hill news conference on Dec. 3, 1996, where the Democratic leadership for the 105th Congress was announced. (DENNIS COOK/Associated Press)

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., leans on a stack of documents pertaining to campaign finance reform during a Capitol Hill news conference on Dec. 3, 1996, where the Democratic leadership for the 105th Congress was announced. (DENNIS COOK/Associated Press)

Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader, dies at 82

LAS VEGAS — Harry Reid, the former U.S. Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died. He was 82.

Suwannee seeks to harvest fire station timber

Suwannee County has trees and is looking for somebody to harvest them. At the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners’ Dec. 21 meeting, the board directed County Manager Randy Harris, through a consensus, to post a request for bids on harvesting trees at the new fire station site.
An Orange County family gets tested at the Econ Soccer Complex on the first day of the new covid-19 drive-thru testing site hosted by Orange County Health Services at the park off East Colonial Drive, in Orlando on Dec. 27. (JOE BURBANK/Associated Press)

An Orange County family gets tested at the Econ Soccer Complex on the first day of the new covid-19 drive-thru testing site hosted by Orange County Health Services at the park off East Colonial Drive, in Orlando on Dec. 27. (JOE BURBANK/Associated Press)

Florida adds 39,000 new covid cases from Christmas weekend

MIAMI — Florida reported 39,000 new covid-19 cases on Monday from the Christmas weekend, as thousands of people waited in lines for tests following holiday gatherings and flights on crowded airplanes.
A pharmacy in Grand Central Terminal advertises the covid-19 vaccine on Dec. 9 in New York City. The CDC's new guidance about isolation could entice more Americans to seek a booster dose of the vaccine. (SPENCER PLATT/Getty Images/TNS)

A pharmacy in Grand Central Terminal advertises the covid-19 vaccine on Dec. 9 in New York City. The CDC's new guidance about isolation could entice more Americans to seek a booster dose of the vaccine. (SPENCER PLATT/Getty Images/TNS)

U.S. officials recommend shorter covid isolation, quarantine

NEW YORK — United States health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.