Medical school, COVID strain, murder case. Catch up on today’s top Miami stories

A new medical school in South Miami-Dade and a decade-old double murder heading to trial are among the top stories from the Miami Herald on Wednesday.

Here are key takeaways:

• New medical school planned for South Miami-Dade: Larkin University plans to open the Jacqueline Nicole Michel College of Osteopathic Medicine on a 48-acre campus in the Naranja area, with a target opening of fall 2028. The school aims to address Florida’s projected shortage of nearly 18,000 physicians by 2035 by training doctors to stay and practice locally.

• Suspects in Miami Gardens execution-style murders reject plea deals: Two men accused of the 2013 torture and killing of church minister Annette Anderson, 70, and her grandson Tyrone Walker Jr., 20, will head to trial May 6 after Reginald Louis Jackson rejected a 40-year plea deal. Prosecutors say they will seek seven life sentences if the pair is convicted.

• ‘Cicada’ COVID variant detected in Florida: The BA.3.2 variant, which has about 70 mutations compared to strains used in 2025-26 vaccines, has been found in 25 states as of March 19, including two cases in Florida. Health experts say the variant may be more contagious but doesn’t appear to cause more severe disease, and vaccination is still recommended.

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