Central America braced for its second major hurricane in as many weeks as Hurricane Iota, now a record-setting Category 5 storm, roared ashore in Nicaragua Monday night. The storm made … Click to Continue »
A drive-by shooting in Northeast Miami-Dade early Monday evening left four people hurt, including a 5-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, according to a law enforcement source with Miami-Dade police. … Click to Continue »
County Mayor-elect Daniella Levine Cava explains what she intends to accomplish as the new mayor of Miami-Dade, at an office in Little Havana Florida, on Sunday, November 15, 2020. … Click to Continue »
It wasn’t long ago that Jorge Mena was organizing up to six parties in a day with his team of 100 for crowds of thousands and celebrity clients including the … Click to Continue »

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – With thousands of additional COVID-19 cases being reported every day, the number of people hospitalized with the disease continues to mount.

As of early Monday evening, 3,243 people in Florida were hospitalized with “primary” diagnoses of COVID-19, up from 3,118 on Sunday afternoon, according to Florida Agency for Health Care Administration numbers.

The increase came as Florida reported an additional 4,663 cases on Monday, bringing the overall total to 889,864 since the pandemic started, the state Department of Health reported on its website.

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Also, 17,559 Florida residents and 216 non-residents had died of COVID-19. Miami-Dade County had the most COVID-19 hospitalizations on Monday, with 465.

It was followed by Broward County, with 284; Palm Beach County, with 235; Hillsborough County, with 224; Duval County, with 180; Orange County, with 163; Pinellas County, with 156; and Sarasota County, with 102.

(©2020 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Four people, including two children, were shot in northwest Miami-Dade Monday night.

Police said the shooting happened around 6 p.m. near NW 151 St. and NW 2 Ave.

Investigators said someone drove up to the group outside of a home, got out, fired shots and took off.

One of those young victims is 2-year-old girl. The other is a 5-year-old boy.

CBS4 was told all of the victims are in stable condition at a hospital.

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The search for the shooter continues.

If you have any information, call Miami-Dade Crime stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.

(CBS Detroit) — Both Democrats and Republicans agree on the need for a second round of economic stimulus. What they disagree on is what form that stimulus should take and how much it should cost. Little progress has been made since the election. What can be done in the lame-duck session leading up the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden remains to be seen.

As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday, “our focus in the Congress now, in this lame duck, continues to be on COVID relief. This is a red alert, all hands on deck. As Leader Schumer and I discussed yesterday, this is an emergency of the highest magnitude…”

President Trump recently tweeted his support for another big round of stimulus once again.

Though the White House has also stepped back from the $1.9 trillion proposal it was supporting in the lead up to the election.

A large stimulus package would likely include an array of things similar to the revised $2.2 trillion HEROES Act that passed the House in early October. Those include a $1,200 stimulus check, additional federal unemployment benefits and aid to cities and states. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, then negotiating on behalf of the Trump administration, was pushing back on the aid to cities and states when negotiations broke off.

The Biden plan, as proposed, would also contain an additional $200 per month for recipients of Social Security and student loan forgiveness. Other measures include emergency sick leave, additional money for small businesses and no personal expenditures for COVID testing, treatment and vaccines.

>>READ: Stimulus Package Update: What Will A Biden Administration Mean For More Aid?

The Biden administration would see the revised HEROES Act as a jumping-off point to further negotiations. “I think the Biden folks might start with Pelosi’s bill,” says Harry Holzer, Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University and former Chief Economist for the U.S. Department of Labor. “Maybe they would like to end up somewhere close to the bipartisan caucus in the House, [which] suggested a $1.5 trillion bill.”

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell also agrees that more needs to be done, though his scope is much more limited. According to Politico, Pelosi and Schumer “…are looking at something dramatically larger. That’s not a place I think we’re willing to go,” he said. “But I do think there needs to be another package. Hopefully we can get past the impasse we’ve had now for four or five months and get serious.”

Two sources of that impasse are the amount of additional federal unemployment payments and aid to cities and states. Republicans see the former — at least the $600 per week the Democrats are requesting — as overly generous and a disincentive for the unemployed to return to work. Evidence does not that claim.

They view the latter as “blue state bailouts,” though budget shortfalls are hitting states and cities across the political spectrum. State and local governments depend on revenue from sales and property taxes. But every state, except Vermont, has to balance its budget. “Sales tax revenues are falling [and] property tax revenue will probably be affected as well,” says Yeva Nersisyan, Associate Professor of Economics at Franklin & Marshall College. “So then their revenues are falling. They’re going to start laying off people, cutting services… education, policing, firefighters, those kind of services that state and local governments provide.”

>>READ: ‘Stimulus Checks Are The Least Important,’ When Drafting Aid Package, Says Economist

The Senate’s last failed attempt at a stimulus package amounted to $500 billion and did not include stimulus checks. But Senate Republicans see recent positive economic news as supporting their position for a more limited package. Employers added 638,000 jobs in October, down from 672,000 in September. With that, the national unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent, even as growth slowed. The number of long-term unemployed rose by 1.2 million. Of the 11 million currently unemployed, one-third have been out of work for at least 27 weeks.

Stimulus talks have not continued since the election, but when they do, McConnell will probably take a more active roll, as reported in the New York Times. “There hasn’t been any discussion yet between McConnell and Pelosi, but McConnell is not going to rely on Mnuchin anymore to do the dealing,” according to Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. “I think he’s intending to take it over and try to get something going.”

In the meantime, COVID-19 numbers have been moving decidedly in the wrong direction. On Friday, 184,000 new cases were reported in the United States, setting a record for the fourth day in a row. A daily count of 200,000 seems imminent. Hospitals in many parts of the country are running out of hospital beds and medical staff to treat patients. Some states are resorting to field hospitals.

The United States set COVID-19 records for a fourth consecutive day, with more than 184,000 cases reported Friday and over 68,000 people hospitalized with the virus. An average of over 1,100 Americans have died of the virus per day over the last week, as officials nationwide announce new measures in response to the surge. The upward trend is expected to continue.

>>READ: Stimulus Package Update: What Happens To The Economy Without A Second Stimulus?

Despite the runaway pandemic, there has been plenty of positive news on the vaccine front. Last week, drug-maker Pfizer claimed its coronavirus vaccine was 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in human trials. Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine has since showed similar results in trials. Emergency federal approval could come within weeks. But the logistical nightmare of distributing hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine will likely last much longer.

In that time the pandemic and the resulting economic slowdown are likely to worsen. Another round of adequate economic stimulus becomes even more important.

“There have been signs of the recovery flattening, as the virus caseload is getting worse,” says Harry Holzer, Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University and former Chief Economist for the U.S. Department of Labor. “That’s going to dampen the recovery. That’s going to make people more reluctant to go shopping, to eat in restaurants, etc. The stimulus bills that Congress passed in March and the president signed I think were very helpful in number one protecting workers who had been laid off and people who would’ve been poorer. I think it did a very good job in helping them and also stimulating the recovery. Absent a second round of stimulus, I think more people will suffer and the economic recovery will weaken.”

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Monday morning the medical team at Hard Rock Stadium was very busy, as lines of people waited to be tested for COVID-19.

This as cases here, along with the rest of the country, are on the rise.

“We now have 11 million people with COVID-19 in the United States and we have lost so many people. We have lost 246,000 people to COVID–19,” said Dr. Aileen Marty.

Dr. Marty, an infectious disease specialist at the Florida International University, has been on the frontlines of the pandemic since the very beginning.

She said healthcare professionals are now under more pressure as hospitals are seeing a spike of not just first time COVID patients.

“Studies have shown that as many as 17 percent of the people who have been positive have resolved their problem and done okay, are the ones that are now testing re-positive. Among those people who test re-positive, there are people who are ending up this time in the hospital,” said Dr. Marty.

Florida’s positivity rate was close to 10 percent this weekend. Just two weeks ago the positivity rate was about 5.8 percent.

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On Sunday, more than 10 thousand new infections were reported by the Florida Health Department. It is the highest number of new cases the state has seen since July.

The daily positivity rate within the tri-county area is climbing. Monroe County has a positivity rate of 15 percent, Broward County is at 8 percent, and Miami-Dade County is near 8.7 percent.

Florida’s daily positivity was around 9 percent over the weekend.

“The trend is absolutely up. The spike could be because of two reasons. Number one has to do with the parties that happened around Halloween and also there is an impact from the political rallies,” said Dr. Marty.

Last week, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, announced its COVID-19 vaccine may soon be available.

However, it’s not time to put down your masks just yet.

“We have no idea whether the vaccine blocks the transmission of the virus,” said Dr. Marty.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, medical experts ask you to limit your gathering to 10 people and to social distance when eating.

“People, especially young people, have to be aware of the incredibly high numbers of people who post-COVID continue to have significant symptoms. Long term complications of COVID may be complications for the rest of their lives,” said Dr. Marty.

Last Thursday, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez addressed the rise in cases.

“Our numbers are increasing from about 700 cases a week about two weeks ago to about a thousand cases a week,” said Suarez.

On Monday, the mayor’s said there are no plans for another lockdown or more restrictions on businesses in Miami.

Governor Ron DeSantis’s executive order in September limited those options for city and county leaders.

Mayor Suarez’s office said he will be part of a coronavirus task force meeting on Tuesday with national experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx.

CBS4 reached out to Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s office, but the newly-elected Congressman is in Washington, D.C. for orientation and was not available for comment.

The office of Miami-Dade Mayor-Elect Daniella Levine Cava, who will be sworn in on Tuesday, issued the following statement.

“Ahead of tomorrow’s installation, the Mayor-Elect will be briefed by the County Attorney’s office on the set of executive orders at the state level and how the county will work within those frameworks to protect the health and safety of the residents and ensure the economic recovery continues for Miami-Dade. She will be touching on the latest with the coronavirus crisis during her installation tomorrow.”

Keon Hardemon

Keon Hardemon (file photo)

[MIAMI] The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners will hold an installation ceremony for its newly elected and reelected Commissioners.

The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, starting at 9:00 a.m., in the Commission Chamber located on the second floor of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW 1st Street. An overflow area will be available in the lobby for members of the public.

To ensure the safety of all participants, and immediately following the invocation, presentation of colors, national anthem, and introductory remarks by the Mayor, each Commissioner will be sworn into office individually in the following order:

9:30 am – 10:00 am                             

The Honorable Oliver G. Gilbert, III

Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 1

 

10:30 am – 11:00 am                           

The Honorable Keon Hardemon

Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 3

 

11:30 am – 12:00 pm                           

The Honorable Raquel A. Regalado

Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 7

 

12:30 pm – 1:00 pm                             

The Honorable Kionne L. McGhee

Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 9

 

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm                               

The Honorable Joe A. Martinez

Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 11

 

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm                               

The Honorable Rene Garcia

Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 13

 

The ceremony will be broadcast live on Miami-Dade TV and streamed live at www.miamidade.gov/webcasting, as well as on Twitter at @miamidadebcc and at  facebook.com/miamidadebcc.

The post Installation ceremony for newly elected and reelected Miami-Dade Commissioners appeared first on South Florida Caribbean News.

DANIA BEACH (CBSMiami) – One man is dead after a BSO-involved shooting late Monday morning off Stirling Road just west of I-95.

From Chopper4, you could see the body covered in a yellow tarp and a gun near the body just after 11 a.m.

The shooting happened behind a cluster of hotels situated off Stirling Road just before 29th Ave.

Witnesses said they saw BSO deputies tailing the driver of a silver Lexus who started to drive erratically.

“He was doing U-turns, a whole circle. He swerved around. They blocked him off. He gets out of the car and started running. Thirty seconds later, 20 bullets go off,” a witness told CBS4.

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The Broward Sheriff’s office said it began as a stop on a car with a possible stolen tag.

Three deputies went after the man.

“Crime scene detectives will review body worn camera footage, surveillance and witness statements to determine what happened,” said BSO spokesman Carey Codd.

Witnesses saw the drama unfold from their hotel rooms in the Comfort Suites.

“I saw someone running between the bushes,” said guest Monika Hunter. “It’s kind of tiring because you don’t know what’s going on. If you are running from the police, you should stop then you won’t be shot.”