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In a widely distributed memo, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. told school leaders that the federal policies are “not-binding” in Florida and “should not be treated as governing law.” Diaz, who was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, warned that complying with the U.S. Department of Education could spell legal trouble under state law. (Atterbury, 7/28)

A Florida school district is responding to a law signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, allowing students who want to be identified by their preferred pronouns and names to fill out a Gender Support Plan that will require notification of the student's parent or guardian. (Lee, 7/28)

A Florida boy is said to have been hospitalized for contracting brain-eating amoeba otherwise known as, Naegleria fowleri – a potentially deadly parasite that attacks brain tissue – after he swam at a local beach. Caleb Ziegelbauer, 13, had visited Port Charlotte Beach Park with his family in early July, according to a GoFundMe his aunts – Katie Chiet and Elizabeth Ziegelbaur – recently launched. (Moore, 7/27)

Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and more than a dozen other tobacco companies were sued by Iowa’s attorney general for allegedly failing to pay the state $133 million due under a 1998 settlement intended to avoid future health-related lawsuits. The companies withheld a portion of their annual payments to Iowa in bad faith and “through a scheme of false claims and feigned ignorance,” Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday. (Larson, 7/28)

The Miami-Dade County School Board reversed itself yet again on Thursday, voting to approve health and sex education textbooks for middle and high school students that have moved to the forefront of Florida’s battle over what is taught in schools. (Traub, 7/28)

Chicago public health officials are advising Lollapalooza goers to test their drugs before partaking to make sure they are not laced with fentanyl. The Chicago Department of Public Health put out a warning a day before the four-day music festival was set to begin in Grant Park. (Betz, 7/28)

The Houston market has also been identified as a place that may benefit from these services, according to the 2022 Health Care Insights Study by CVS Health this month. In Houston, 53 percent of respondents said the mental health of a loved one was a “high to moderate stressor,” compared with 42 percent nationally. (Carballo, 7/28)

As people flock to beaches, parks, pools, and other outdoor places this summer, a group of eight communities north of Boston is working to ensure they are protected from the harmful effects of the sun. Through a state-funded initiative that began in early July, more than 100 sunscreen dispensers have been installed at 70 locations for free public use in Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Marblehead, Nahant, Peabody, Salem, and Swampscott. (Laidler, 7/28)

Gov. Andy Beshear (D) called the event “one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky’s history,” saying officials expect “double-digit deaths” and describing how rescuers were finding people stranded on rooftops. “I do believe it will end up being one of the most significant deadly floods that we have had in Kentucky in at least a very long time,” he said. (Childress, Livingston, Beachum and Samenow, 7/28)