Wednesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 8/17/2016

Pesticide-resistant whitefly found in Florida could 'devastate' many crops

A tiny, invasive whitefly that is resistant to pesticides and carries crop-devastating viruses has been found outdoors in the United States for the first time, in Florida. Researchers say it poses a serious threat to crops such as tomatoes, beans, squash, cotton and melons. More from Phys.org.

All Aboard Florida: a new approach for U.S. passenger rail

All Aboard Florida has nearly completed raising $5 billion of private capital in a combined passenger rail and property venture to introduce an inter-city rail service along Florida’s east coast between Miami and Orlando. More from the International Railway Journal.

Trump to begin TV ads in Florida as campaign staff gets a jolt

Donald Trump’s campaign got a shakeup this morning, part of a reset that includes the first TV advertising in Florida and other battlegrounds. Trump has not placed a single ad to date while Hillary Clinton and her allies have showered Florida with $27 million. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

World's largest cruise company extends deal with South Florida port

Carnival Corp. & plc has extended an agreement with Port Everglades that includes preferential use of its multiple terminals until 2030. The agreement makes the Miami company a priority when it comes to five terminals at the port. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Health First antitrust lawsuit settled in federal court

Health First and a group of Space Coast physicians and medical groups have settled their three-year antitrust legal battle, cutting short a federal trial before the first witness took the stand. More from Florida Today.

Accountancy
Demand for CPA services strong and resilient

Big changes in business -- from globalization and shifting workplace demographics -- mean just one thing: Only the most nimble will succeed. Those business trends are pointed findings of a multi-year study recently released by the American Institute of CPAs. [Sponsored Report]

» Read the full report here.

Agriculture
A 21st century Florida dairy farm: No poop allowed

For Woody Larson, who operates two dairy farms with his sons on a spread with 4,000 cows just north of Lake Okeechobee, waste production is nearly as big a concern as milk production. Every bit of waste, solid and liquid, that produces marsh-choking phosphorus is flushed into a recycling system, filtered, treated and sprayed on grass that is mowed, stashed in silos and fed back to the cows.