That’s a lot of BRRR.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne says the coldest temperatures this season are yet to come. A significant arctic cold outbreak arrives this Saturday night. The current forecast calls for low temperatures in the 20s, along with wind chills in the teens, early Sunday morning for inland Brevard.
Due to the recent cold weather, the Lifepointe Church shelter has been operating 12 days this year, and all 60-plus beds have been full. WFIT’s Terri Wright tells us more.
Brevard County has four cold-weather shelters serving people experiencing homelessness. In Cocoa, shelters include Matthew’s Hope and the Sharing Center of Central Brevard, with LifePointe Ministries operating in Titusville and Providence Connects in Melbourne.
Last week, the Brevard Homeless Coalition conducted its annual point-in-time count, identifying 1,062 people experiencing homelessness in 2025. Down from 1,116 in 2024, a decrease of about five percent. The coalition is currently seeking donations such as bus passes, grocery store gift cards, and cold-weather items to help people stay warm.
Florida could ban foreign faculty at state universities.
Florida could bar its public universities from hiring foreign faculty on H-1B visas for the next year. The move is called potentially “devastating” to science departments at state schools.
Just months after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wanted to “pull the plug” on the use of those visas at state colleges and universities, the Florida Board of Governors is slated to take steps this Thursday to abide by his request. If approved, the proposed new rule would be put out for two weeks of public comment and then the board could finalize it at a later meeting.
The H-1B program allows companies and institutions to bring in educated foreign professionals for occupations that are deemed hard to fill with U.S. workers. Almost 400 such employees work at Florida universities.
Florida House considers expansion of Parental Rights.
STDs are up in Florida and suicide is the second or third largest cause of death for people aged 10-34. But the Florida House is considering legislation to deny medical and psychiatric interventions for young Floridians. If it passes, they’d need a parent’s OK to be treated for ailments including STDs and mental health crises.
A bill began moving through the committee process in Tallahassee that would give the State of Florida the authority to rename airports. But the only change currently being proposed is renaming Palm Beach International Airport as Donald J. Trump International Airport. The change would be subject to approval of the Federal Aviation Administration, but that’s led by a Trump appointee.
Artemis astronauts go into quarantine.
While no official launch date has been set for the Artemis II mission, the four astronauts have entered quarantine. It’s meant to ensure that they don’t pick up any illnesses that could delay their mission by limiting their exposure to others prior to liftoff. NASA teams are working toward a February launch of the SLS rocket. The last major test is the wet dress rehearsal, where the rocket is fueled and the clock counts down to within seconds of liftoff before stopping. The wet dress may be attempted this coming Saturday. But the expected cold weather could potentially impact the test operation.
