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The Daystarter: Local FBI agent discusses Kavanaugh investigation; spate of weekend shootings across Tampa Bay; about that 'horrific' Bucs loss in Chicago

 
Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston (3) throws during the second half against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 30, 2018, in Chicago. [Associated Press]
Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston (3) throws during the second half against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 30, 2018, in Chicago. [Associated Press]
Published Oct. 1, 2018

Catching you up on overnight happenings, and what to know today.

• Expect an unseasonably hot start to October today, with highs in the low to mid 90s, according to the National Weather Service. We'll have scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms.

• As you head out for your morning commute, check out our live blog for the latest traffic updates and road conditions across Tampa Bay.

• The Tampa Bay region was a deadly place over the weekend, according to releases from area police departments. Here's a recap of what happened, and where the investigations stand.

• FBI investigations, like the one ordered last week by President Donald Trump into his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, are routinely limited in scope, according Fred Humphries, who retired earlier this year after a 21-year career that included several such investigations. Humphries has investigated some of the FBI's biggest terrorism cases, helped thwart a major attack in 2000 and was thrust into the public eye during the David Petraeus sex scandal after he was given emails considered threatening by Tampa residents Jill and Scott Kelley, Howard Altman writes.

• As all eyes are on the Senate this week and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. It's a reminder of where Bill Nelson is: Not here, not in Florida. The Senate schedule has been a hindrance to Nelson. His campaign schedule has been light, with only a scattering of events over the weekends. How does Nelson's Washington and campaign schedule compare to his colleagues and what do Democrats here think of how much time he is spending in Florida? Steve Contorno explains.

• Gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis says he would, if elected, direct a complete review of Florida's curriculum standards. He says he would place "a renewed emphasis on teaching America's founding principles and ensure that the Constitution is put back into the classroom." But it turns out the Constiution is already taught in Florida schools as part of the civics curriculum and is usually introduced to students in middle school. Specific areas of focus include the Constitutional Convention, the preamble, the concept of checks and balances, separation of powers, the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. Students must take an "end of course" to test their mastery of the information, and it constitutes 30 percent of their civics grade. In the five years the test has been administered, the passing rate has gone from 61 percent to 71 percent. Read Jeffrey Solochek's story on to find out where DeSantis would improve on an already robust civics curriculum.

• In a new ad for his Senate campaign, Gov. Rick Scott says that he likes it when "Florida is first." "Fourth-grade reading and math scores, first in the nation," Scott says in the ad. "Eighth-grade reading, first. High school AP classes and college education, both ranked first in the nation. And now, our highest education funding ever. I like it when Florida is first." The only problem is that Florida isn't first in most categories Scott talks about in the ad. Read PolitiFact Florida's analysis this morning.

• Before her current run for the Hillsborough County Commission, Green Party candidate Kim O'Connor paid her public service dues serving on the Soil and Water Conservation District. But her stint there came to an abrupt end after hotel staff found her room reeking of marijuana during a taxpayer-funded trip to Okeechobee for a meeting. The hotel demanded an extra $500, saying the smell was so bad they would need commercial fans to air out the room, which could not be let for several days, documents show. A transcript of the district's next board meeting shows that fellow district supervisors encouraged O'Connor to resign so she could run for office again without a strike on her record. Two days later, she filed to run for the Hillsborough county commission. Christopher O'Donnell has the story.

Tampa Bay was embarrassed in a 48-10 loss to the Bears, allowing Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky to throw six touchdown passes. Tampa Bay has allowed 139 points in four games this year, the most to ever start a season in club history.

• The Rays put a good wrap on their more-successful-than-expected season, beating Toronto 9-4 to finish with 90 wins for the first time since 2013, after being predicted by many to lose 100 games. It also marks just the third time since the 2012 introduction of the second wild-card that a 90-win team missed the playoffs. Also, the 2013 Rangers (who lost Game 163 to the Rays) and the 2012 Rays.

• In 2007, a 60-year-old woman walked into the emergency room where Dr. Scott Plantz was the attending physician. She had flu-like symptoms and difficulty breathing. He gave her a prescription and sent her home. Twelve hours later, she was dead. The malpractice lawsuit arrived two years later. Plantz felt he had done nothing wrong. So he decided to fight it. Ten years later, he's fighting still. Read Josh Solomon's story on tampabay.com.

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• Why it took a 66-year-old man in a sensible gray suit to raze and reinvent the rock concert as we know it, it is impossible to say. That the 66-year-old in question was David Byrne, well, now it actually starts making sense. Read Jay Cridlin's review of what could be one of the year's best concerts.

• Plan your week! Here are the top things to do this week in Tampa Bay including the Roots' bandleader Questlove bringing 4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince and a Tailgate Taste Fest in Curtis Hixon Park.