Good morning, Palm Bay.

Local volunteers & donors helped low-income students get free shoes, backpacks, haircuts, and other school supplies so they could start the school year with confidence.

The Kicks for Kids event held on Aug 3 at Rack Room Shoes in Titusville provided shoes to over 1,200 students while other groups in Brevard offered additional services.

Brevard Zoo welcomed a new baby zebra as mother Iggy gave birth and both are healthy.

The animal care team said the pair will bond in private before they make their public debut in a few weeks (as part of the Grevy’s zebra Species Survival Plan).

The West Melbourne Police Department issued a traffic advisory at the US-192 and east exit of Sam's Club after several crashes.

The Florida Department of Transportation is evaluating long-term safety measures while the exit has been set to right turn only—drivers risk a $169 fine and three points if they break the rule.

Federal law enforcement recruiters have offered local officers a $50,000 signing bonus and up to $60,000 for student loan repayment to assist with ICE immigration sweeps, which has drawn sharp criticism from Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey—he called the move a betrayal to agencies that once relied on local support after 9/11. The controversy raises questions about federal intentions and local loyalty as recruitment efforts continue.

United Launch Alliance will launch its third Vulcan rocket on Tuesday, Aug.

12 from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the USSF-106 national security mission, carrying classified payloads to geosynchronous orbit—officials said the seven-hour flight will test critical national defense capabilities.

A local opinion piece tells how a writer who feared organ donation changed their mind after hearing about Tom Stokes—a 76-year-old transplant athlete who got a life-saving liver transplant and now races in the World Transplant Games later this month—and now sees hope in donating organs for those waiting for a transplant.

Caroline Marks was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach—a rare honor she received eight days after her championship—and she now qualifies for her third WSL Final 5 playoff at Cloudbreak in Fiji on Aug.

27-Sept. 4.