In the era of so-called " fake news ," deliberate disinformation campaigns , and hoaxes spreading faster than actual news , speakers at Florida SouthWestern State College are hosting a Critical Thinking Lecture Series throughout October about applying reason and logic to thinking about our world.

When actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus announced in she had been diagnosed with breast cancer last week, she did so alongside a sobering statistic: one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. The most recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 236,000 women—and more than 2,000 men—are diagnosed with that form of cancer each year. In Florida, that's roughly 14,000 new breast cancer cases annually.

Pride-SWFL , a local nonprofit, is hosting its ninth annual gay pride celebration this weekend. Though it will include the usual live music, food and drinks of a pride festival, the event, fittingly named SWFL Pride , prides itself on being volunteer-run and will feature members of other nonprofits in the area as well as community groups and supportive religious organizations.

Two months from now, the Atlantic hurricane season ends, just as Florida’s tourism season begins. Gov. Rick Scott announced last month that Florida had the highest number of visitors in a six-month period in its history. Nearly 61 million people visited the state in the first half of 2017.

Open enrollment for 2018 health coverage begins in about one month , but as happened last year, rumors have already begun circulating about astronomical premium increases. Most Floridians never saw their deductibles go up as projected last year, and several saw them actually decrease in spite of the frightening headlines. That’s because most of the quoted hikes were covered by the healthcare exchange in the end. But, now, a new batch of ominous rumors is going around.

While most of Southwest Florida is getting back to normal nearly three weeks after Hurricane Irma, in Everglades City in southern Collier County, it’s a different story. The town saw eight to ten feet of storm surge from Hurricane Irma, some homes completely washed away, and those still standing filled by mud, mold, and destruction.

The Laboratory Theater of Florida is currently running performances of the black comedy “Sordid Lives,” an LGBT cult classic about family members dealing with their demons as they gather together after a death in the family. Audiences are invited after Thursday's performance to participate in a ‘talk back’ panel about ideas found in the play, from grappling with an LGBT identity, to gay conversion therapy, to institutionalization.

Last week, the Lee County Commission voted unanimously to acquire a 3,922-acre parcel in South Lee County. The $42.4 million acquisition, known as Edison Farms, came days after Hurricane Irma directly hit the west coast of Florida.

Last week, Georgetown University released two studies relating to children’s health insurance. One was to announce the nationwide rate of uninsured children has reached an historic low . The other was to point out that Florida’s rate of uninsured children is higher than the national average .

Hurricane Irma cut a swath of blackouts through Florida, from the Keys to multiple counties across the peninsula. An estimated 4.4 million people were without power as days became weeks. That's led some Floridians to consider turning to renewable energy like solar power , installing large-scale battery backups at home, and keeping solar contractors busy as more residents think about going "off the grid" to power their homes.