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What you need to know for Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020

Good morning Tampa Bay! Thank you for waking up on the Brightside with us,

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Good morning Tampa Bay! We're halfway through the workweek. 

Let's get the day going with some of the top stories you should know about. 

Up in smoke

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have raised the state's legal age to buy tobacco and nicotine products to 21.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 810 in March largely in response to youth vaping. It identified e-cigarettes and vaping products as "tobacco products" and raised the age to buy any such products, including tobacco cigarettes, from 18 to 21. 

The governor argues the federal age already is 21, and the bill would have banned tobacco-free vaping flavors, potentially leading to greater cigarette use.  

RELATED: Gov. DeSantis vetoes bill to raise smoking, vaping age to 21

What is MIS-C and what do parents need to know about it?

As students head back to classrooms, doctors say parents should learn to look out for symptoms of a dangerous response to the coronavirus. Research has shown that children are not as susceptible to COVID-19 as adults are, but sometimes their bodies do respond to the virus in an alarming, severe way.

That abnormal response to the COVID-19 virus is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C

It affects adolescents and children. Different parts of the body can become inflamed, potentially damaging essential organs like the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and the gastrointestinal tract. 

It usually starts showing two to four weeks after exposure to COVID-19. So, while a child may not show symptoms of COVID-19, they could develop MIS-C a few weeks after coming into contact with it at school or through a friend or family member who was infected. 

You can find a list of symptoms here.

RELATED: If your child is back in a classroom, look for symptoms of this dangerous COVID-19 complication

Let's talk unemployment benefits 

Florida is ready to begin distributing $300 in weekly federal unemployment benefits as part of the government's Lost Wages Assistance Program, the governor announced. 

The program was created through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in early August to make up to $44 billion in FEMA Disaster Relief funds available to pay unemployed Americans an additional $300 per week after the $600 a week federal payments expired in July. 

People can expect to receive payment as early as this week. 

If you're wondering how to apply or if you're eligible, head over to the state's website for more information. 

RELATED: Florida to begin paying out $300 in weekly federal unemployment benefits

RELATED: Florida approved for $300 federal unemployment payments, but the money won’t last long

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