This week on The Florida Roundup...
The Florida Department of Education released the latest school grades for the 2016-17 year and the results are astounding. The percentage of schools that earned an "A" or "B" jumped from 47 percent the previous year to 57 percent and the number of failing schools decreased by more than half.
How did school districts make such major improvements? We ask our panel of education reporters, Kyra Gurney with The Miami Herald, The Sun-Sentinel's Scott Travis , and Jessica Bakeman for POLITICO Florida.
Listen here:
Tensions continue to rise in Venezuela and this week, the political unrest took a bizarre turn. On Tuesday, a stolen helicopter reportedly circled the nation's Supreme Court in Caracas, firing shots and lobbing grenades. No one was hurt. The copter was later found. Officials still are looking for the man who allegedly operated the aircraft, Oscar Perez.
Read more: Venezuela Copter Cop Who Buzzed Maduro Has Taken Daring Action Before--Onscreen
President Nicolás Maduro called the attack an attempted coup, but members from the opposition say it was staged. For more on the latest from Venezuela, we turn to Andrew Rosati with Bloomberg News and WLRN's Americas editor Tim Padgett.
Listen here:
Federal budget cuts can hurt a unique relationship between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Miami.
NOAA Fisheries is considering moving its headquarters in Virginia Key to St. Petersburg threatening to undo virtually all of the research collaborations between the two entities.
For more on what this move could mean for the region, we turn to The Miami Herald's environmental reporter Jenny Staletovich and Ben Kirtman, an atmospheric scientist at UM's Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, or CIMAS.
Listen here: