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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: You Can Now Fish For Snook In Cedar Key. Why? Climate Change, Most Likely. "University of Florida and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission researchers have studied the common snook for more than a decade, tracking their movements and recent invasion into the waters near Cedar Key, a town with fewer than 700 residents an hour southwest of Gainesville. That’s about 100 miles north of the fish’s historical range, said Micheal Allen, a UF fisheries scientist who co-authored a recent study analyzing the snook’s expansion north as a result of climate change."

• WUFT News: Ocala To Become First Florida City To Install Safe Haven Baby Boxes For Mothers In Crisis. "Safe Haven Baby Boxes were created so that mothers who are unable to care for a newborn can legally, safely and anonymously surrender their infant, helping to prevent illegal abandonment."

• WUFT News: Meridian Behavioral Healthcare Annual Report Reveals Sharp Rise In Telehealth Treatment. "The COVID-19 pandemic upended mental health and substance abuse treatment programs across the country. In Gainesville, a new report from Meridian Behavioral Healthcare details how treatment via telehealth massively increased in popularity during the first half of 2020."

• News Service of Florida: State Of Florida Faces Lawsuit Over Medicaid Records. "Filed by the Florida Health Justice Project and the National Health Law Program on behalf of plaintiff Nancy Wright, a Gainesville attorney, the lawsuit also asks the court to declare that the Agency for Health Care Administration is precluded from charging special fees associated with redacting information from final orders issued by the agency’s Office of Fair Hearings."

• WFSU: Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis Launches Tour Pushing COVID-19 Lawsuit Protections For Businesses. "Sen. Keith Perry joined Patronis on the first stop of what the the CFO has dubbed the 'Restaurant Business Liability Tour.'"

• WCJB: Advisory board recommends removing Corrine Brown’s name from the RTS facility. "During Wednesday’s meeting, the RTS advisory board voted unanimously to recommend the city to remove her name. The Gainesville City Commission will have to vote to have the sign changed."

• The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended this week, but our reporting about its impacts to Gulf Coast communities continues. A team of WUFT journalists spent time this fall in a Louisiana recovery zone, following consecutive hits on the city of Lake Charles from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Nearly every person they interviewed agreed that if the storms had struck higher-populated areas, the news coverage would be much more significant. But being a small community, Lake Charles had to instead rely on its own people. These are their stories, highlighting the perseverance, struggles and undying hope of those in the Forgotten City.

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Around the state today

• Florida Today ($): COVID milestones for Florida: From 100,000 to 1 million coronavirus cases, here's a look back. "Among all the states, Florida has the third-highest number of cases, the third-highest amount of testing, and the fourth-highest number of deaths in the U.S."

• Bay News 9: Expert: Millions Losing Unemployment Benefits Could Lead to Recession. "Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody joined 48 other state attorney generals in a letter to Congress asking for an extension to spend $150 billion in COVID-19 relief included in the CARES ACT, which needs to be spent before the end of the year."

• Tallahassee Democrat ($): FSU President John Thrasher talks resiliency, achievement and pride in final address. "Thrasher, addressing about 25 faculty and invited guests socially distanced at the Heritage Museum inside Dodd Hall, also said the university would continue to tell FSU’s story during the upcoming legislative session to make the university’s priorities are achieved."

• WUSF: Veterans Find New Way To Serve: Volunteering For COVID-19 Vaccine Trials. "At the Tampa VA, director of infectious disease clinical research Dr. John Toney said the staff is hoping to get 400 veterans. They're looking for a diverse group of vets over the age of 40, ideally who have other health problems that would put them at-risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms like diabetes or lung disease, provided they are stable."

• Florida Politics: Sen. Rick Scott says he’s not planning 2024 presidential run, backs Donald Trump. "Roughly 24 hours after telling a nationwide audience that a Donald Trump 2024 campaign would be 'great,' a Florida Senator with presidential ambitions of his own returned to cable news to reiterate his central point and quiet speculation about his own bid."

• WJCT: Tim Tebow, Myles Jack, Reggie Hayward Join Jax Icemen Ownership Group. "Former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, current Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack and former Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive End Reggie Hayward are now part of the professional minor hockey league's ownership group."

From NPR News

• Health: CDC Shortens Length Of Quarantine Aimed At Preventing Spread Of The Coronavirus

• Health: 'These Are Deaths That Could Have Been Prevented,' Says Researcher Studying Evictions

• Health: Social Distancing Plummeted In Lead-Up To Fall Surge, Survey Finds

• Politics: Millions Face Bitter Winter If Congress Fails To Extend Relief Programs

• Politics: Who Is Neera Tanden, Biden's Most Controversial Cabinet Pick?

• Politics: Justice Department Investigating Possible Bribery-For-Pardon Scheme

• Science: 'We Don't Have To Live This Way': Doctors Call For Climate Action

• National: Grounded: Emotional Support Animals No Longer Guaranteed Free Flights

About today's curator

I'm Ethan Magoc, a news editor at WUFT. Originally from Pennsylvania, I've found a home telling Florida stories. I’m part of a team searching each morning for local and state stories that are important to you; please send feedback about today's edition or ideas for stories we may have missed to emagoc@wuft.org.