While you were sleeping, we compiled the biggest stories of the day in one place. Each story has a quick and easy summary, so you're prepared for whatever the day brings. Just click on the links if you want to know more!
1. Over 150 Florida hospitals to receive doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
More help is on the way or it will be once the FDA approves the Moderna vaccine. DeSantis said Florida is preparing to receive 367,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week, pending Emergency Use Authorization.
Doses of the vaccine will be distributed to 173 hospital locations in 43 counties that did not receive doses in the first allocation of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
According to a news release, this vaccine will be distributed to a large number of hospitals, since it does not require ultra-cold storage.
2. Florida ranks high as U.S. sets another record for daily COVID deaths
Florida was among 7 states reporting triple-digit increases as the U.S. set a daily record for deaths (3,466) and cases (247,396) according to tracking by Johns Hopkins.
There has also been a marked rise in coronavirus-related hospitalizations. According to the COVID Tracking Project, there are more than 113,000 Americans in the hospital with the virus.
That figure has doubled in the last five weeks, and more than tripled from late September and early October, when hospitalizations had recovered from a summer surge throughout the south.
3. SpaceX to launch mysterious intelligence satellite today
SpaceX is set to launch an intelligence satellite into orbit during a three hour window on Thursday. The exact time hasn't been announced, but it's scheduled sometime between 9 a.m. and noon.
The satellite is for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO.) The NRO, owner of the U.S. government’s spy satellite fleet, has not disclosed any details about the payload on the Falcon 9 rocket.
The intelligence agency tweeted mission artwork of an angry, fanged gorilla beating its chest next to text that reads, "Peace Through Strength."
4. Palm Beach County, Boca Raton challenge federal ruling on 'conversion therapy'
Palm Beach County and Boca Raton are challenging a federal ruling that says the county and city violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by banning therapists from practicing "conversion therapy" on minors.
In 2017, the county and city passed ordinances which ban medical providers from treating minors with "any counseling, practice or treatment performed with the goal of changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity."
Conversion therapies, also known as reparative treatments, rely on the assumption that sexual orientation can be changed or "cured" -- an idea discredited by major medical associations in the UK, the United States and elsewhere.
5. How did the Sunshine State schools shape up on signing day?
After a day high school kids putting on hats and socially distanced announcements, another National Signing Day is in the books.
- Here's who signed with Florida Gators
- Here's who signed with Miami Hurricanes
- Here's who signed with Florida State Seminoles
Today's Forecast
A cold front coming Thursday.
Get your complete hour-by-hour forecast here.
On This Day In History
On December 17, 1944, the U.S. approved the end to the internment of Japanese Americans.
On February 19, 1942, 10 weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable.” By June, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to remote internment camps built by the U.S. military in scattered locations around the country.
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