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5 Things To Know On Wednesday, November 18, 2020

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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. The pandemic has lasted almost a whole gestation period
Palms West Hospital says the maternity ward has been busy since early October.

"We are seeing about 20 to 30 percent increase in births over the past few months and going into the prediction of January," Sanders said.

Why will births continue to go up into January? Well the parents-to-be had a little more time on their hands from March onwards.

Births at Palms West Hospital have increased since October

2. 'Loss to the pediatric community': Beloved Palm Beach County pediatrician dies from coronavirus
Friends and colleagues of a beloved Palm Beach County doctor are mourning his recent death from COVID-19.

Dr. Roman Peña, a pediatric intensive care physician who worked at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, died from the coronavirus Monday.

A troubling trend of daily COVID-19 positivity rate in Palm Beach County, which was as high as 10.44% on Nov. 13, has Palm Beach County officials concerned about holiday travel.

Palm Beach County pediatrician dies from coronavirus

3. The Latest On Election 2020:
Michigan’s largest county has unanimously certified election results showing Democrat Joe Biden defeating President Donald Trump, hours after Republicans first blocked formal approval of voters’ intentions.

The ultimate resolution in Wayne County propels Biden toward formal victory in Michigan, but Tuesday’s chaotic developments are likely to sow more doubt among Trump’s supporters in the election results.

President Trump announced on Tuesday he has fired Christopher Krebs, who was director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Department of Homeland Security. Krebs’ agency was among several that declared this month’s election the “most secure in American history.”

4. Nearly 200 arrested in 'large-scale' child sex trafficking investigation
The Tallahassee Police Department announced the results of a "large-scale" human trafficking investigation Tuesday that resulted in 178 arrests.

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said that it started with an investigation after a 13-year-old child’s image was seen on a prostitution website in 2018.

Since then, 106 people have been charged with felonies and 72 with misdemeanors. Nineteen people also face federal charges, according to Revell. Charges range from solicitation of prostitution to human trafficking of a minor.

Tallahassee Police Department announces nearly 200 arrests in 'large-scale' child trafficking investigation

5. Should marijuana be legalized federally? It might be time to call your representative
A historic bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level is expected to come up for a vote in the House of Representatives in December.

This would be the first time a chamber of Congress has ever voted on removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.

The act is sponsored by now-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and co-sponsored by seven other representatives, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is opposed to the act, and some say the odds of it passing the senate, even if it passes the House, are very slim.

Today's Forecast
Windy weather all week.

Latest Weather Forecast: Wednesday 5 a.m.

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On This Day In History
On November 18, 1978, Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones leads hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their agricultural commune in a remote part of the South American nation of Guyana. Many of Jones’ followers willingly ingested a poison-laced punch while others were forced to do so at gunpoint. The final death toll at Jonestown that day was 909; a third of those who perished were children.

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