Florida will execute William Frances Silvia today
A Florida man convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife and wounding his mother-in-law is set to be executed. William Frances Silvia is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6:00 p.m. at Florida State Prison. This would be Florida’s 13th execution so far this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who leaves office in January, oversaw more executions in a single year last year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Florida’s primary election is today
A Republican attempting to become Florida’s first Black governor faces a crowded field while Democrats wage primary battles under redrawn congressional maps.
Congress member Byron Donalds is banking on President Trump’s endorsement in hopes of securing the Republican nomination and advance to the fall election. His opponents include Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins and political newcomer James Fishback.
The Democrats’ leading candidate for governor is David Jolly, a former Republican congress member who switched parties.
Two Democrats are battling for nomination in a U.S. Senate special election to complete Marco Rubio’s term after he became Trump’s secretary of state last year. Progressive state lawmaker Angie Nixon matches up against retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman, a former National Security Council official who testified in Trump’s first impeachment case in 2019.
Meanwhile, Senator Ashley Moody, the DeSantis appointee currently holding the seat, appears in a strong position as she seeks the Republican nomination with Trump’s endorsement for the term’s final two years.
For Congress, today’s biggest nominating fight involves longtime Democratic Congress member Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former Congress member Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and others in a redrawn south Florida district.
Here are all WMNF stories about the 2026 elections.
The Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency is working to bring back oyster habitat and improve water quality in the Manatee River
More than 300 concrete reef balls are helping bring oysters and cleaner water back to the Manatee River. WMNF’s Daria Mironova reports on how the project is restoring oyster habitat and reviving an ecosystem.
The Rays pick a developer for a proposed Tampa stadium
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Monday a selection committee chose the company AECOM Hunt/Turner to build the proposed $2.3 billion ballpark on the Dale Mabry campus of Hillsborough College with construction potentially beginning this fall. That is, if the Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Commission approve an ongoing financing plan in the coming weeks.
Vaccination rates are dropping among U.S. kindergarteners
Federal data released Monday shows 4.2% of children are exempted from vaccine requirements. That’s up from 3.6% the previous year. This marks the fourth consecutive year of rising exemption rates, mostly due to nonmedical reasons. Experts blame confusion in vaccination recommendations. The CDC reports a slight drop in measles-mumps-rubella shots, and that vaccination rates for polio and other diseases also are falling. The U.S. is experiencing its worst measles year since 1991. Some state health officials are urging parents to vaccinate their children as schools can be hot spots for outbreaks.
The Scoop, produced by Seán Kinane
WMNF anchors Juanita Hurtado Huérfano, Seán Kinane, Lisa Marzilli, Hannah Lau Gleciano, Megan Fair.
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Juanita Hurtado Huérfano, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Daria Mironova, Megan Fair, Luiza Medeiros de Campos, Hannah Lau Gleciano, Joeniyah Carter, Jaelin Diehl.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran.
Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
https://archive.org/details/jamendo-001084/02.mp3
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com / WMNF
Information from the News Service of Florida, the Associated Press, and Florida Public Media was used in this report