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. Delray Beach mayor wins race by less than 200 votes and other results:
Voters in 19 Palm Beach County municipalities cast their ballots Tuesday in races ranging from mayor to commissioner.
Shelly Petrolia will remain mayor of Delray Beach. Unofficial results showed that Petrolia defeated Tracy Caruso by just 157 votes with all precincts reporting.
Despite his false claims about vote-by-mail during the 2020 election cycle, the Palm Beach Post reported Trump requested a mail ballot for this election.
2. Removed from the Heat, but still in hot water: Meyers Leonard apologizes for slur
The Miami Heat said Tuesday night that center Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely, sharply criticizing his use of an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed.
Leonard acknowledged that he used the term Monday, and said he did not know what it meant at that time.
In his apology, posted on social media, he said his "ignorance about its history and how offensive it is to the Jewish community is absolutely not an excuse and I was just wrong."
3. Florida steps closer to limiting medical marijuana
Rep. Spencer Roach, a North Fort Myers Republican, is sponsoring HB 1455 this session, which would cap smokeable THC levels at 10%. That’s less than what most dispensaries currently offer. Edibles would be limited to 15%. Other cannabis products capped at 60%. Terminal patients are exempt.
Doctors called the bill an attack on medicine Tuesday as a House panel advanced THC caps on medical marijuana along party lines.
Democrats said the bill’s passage would equate to a new tax for Florida’s nearly 500,000 registered medical marijuana users who would need to buy more products to keep treatment levels the same.
4. 'Leave Britney, Alone!' Rep, Gaetz seeks Congressional hearing
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on Monday asking for a hearing on court-ordered conservatorships that was the subject of a recent Britney Spears documentary.
Britney Spears is suing to remove her father's conservatorship.
Gaetz, who represents the westernmost portion of Florida's panhandle, wrote about Britney Spears being afraid of her father and "strongly opposed" to having him as a conservator.
"I think we ought to hear directly from @britneyspears.
— Luke Ball (@LukeTBall) March 9, 2021
I think we can call her in to the @JudiciaryGOP committee with no lawyers, no conservators, and we hear directly from her about the abuses in this (conservatorship) process..."
-@mattgaetz @LuckeyGinger @TMZ #FreeBritney pic.twitter.com/tUdc6fbtuM
5. Money you're owed: Unclaimed property and stimulus checks
According to Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, one in five Floridians has unclaimed property waiting for them.
More than $4 million was returned to residents in West Palm Beach in February 2021. To search for unclaimed property or to claim an account, click here.
The House is expected to pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill on Wednesday, sending it straight to Biden's desk. You can find a full break down of stimulus check amounts here.
Today's Forecast
Warming trend this week:
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On This Day In History
On March 10, 1959, Tibetans band together in revolt, surrounding the summer palace of the Dalai Lama in defiance of Chinese occupation forces. 300,000 loyal Tibetans surrounded Norbulinka Palace, preventing the Dalai Lama from accepting the PLA’s invitation. By March 17, Chinese artillery was aimed at the palace, and the Dalai Lama was evacuated to neighboring India where the religious leader has remained in exile.
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