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Morning briefing: It's chilly but nice, with a Democratic debate tonight, state budget talks all day and a chat with Andrea Bocelli

 
[WTSP 10Weather]
[WTSP 10Weather]
Published Feb. 11, 2016

Expect continued cool temperatures today and into the weekend (60s today, 70s on Friday and Saturday), but it should at least be pretty with plenty of sunshine, says 10Weather WTSP chief meteorologist Jim Van Fleet.

• The last four armed occupiers of a national wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon said they would turn themselves in this morning after law officers surrounded them in a tense standoff. The development came as Cliven Bundy — who led a Nevada standoff with federal officers in 2014 and who is also the father of the jailed leader of the Oregon standoff — was arrested in Portland.

• Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders face off tonight in a debate on PBS at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. PolitiFact will fact-check the debate live. Follow @PolitiFact on Twitter.

• Grab your calculators. The state budget becomes the focal point in the Florida Legislature today. After a combined more than seven hours of debate on the proposed spending plans Wednesday, the House and Senate are expected to vote on their very different proposals. The House has a $79.9 billion plan, compared to the Senate's $81 billion plan. Stop by tampabay.com/politics to stay on top of today's developments.

• As the civil war in Syria becomes even more of a humanitarian disaster, Secretary of State John Kerry leads a push in Munich, Germany, for a truce and revival of peace talks that were suspended before they really started. "We are not blind to what is happening," he said. "We are all very, very aware of how critical this moment is."

• How to defeat the Islamic State is on the table when Defense Secretary Ash Carter convenes a meeting in Brussels of defense chiefs from about two dozen coalition countries, including most NATO members, Iraq and the Persian Gulf states. He indicated he will, behind closed doors, share with them details of the U.S. strategy for recapturing the main ISIS strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

• Cast members from Disney's The Lion King are set to take a guided tour of Tampa's Big Cat Rescue on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The actors expected to participate include: Nia Holloway, who plays Nala; Aaron Nelson, who plays Simba; Gerald Ramsey, who plays Mufasa and Mukelisiwe Goba, who plays Rafiki. Cast members will be led around the sanctuary, which is home to 90 big cats, including African lions Cameron, Nikita and Joseph. Follow reporter Chelsea Tatham on Twitter (@ChelseaTatham) for updates.

• Legendary tenor Andrea Bocelli brings both arias and crossover hits tonight at Amalie Arena. He talked with our pop music critic Jay Cridlin about his thoughts on love and romantic songs.

• Here are the rest of today's top things to do around Tampa Bay, including the Sunshine City Songwriters Festival and MADtv star Arie Spears at the Improv.

• Check out beat writer Joe Smith's latest Lightning Strikes podcast this afternoon at tampabay.com/lightning.