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. How to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games
With Tokyo 13 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States, the Opening Ceremony begins at 8 p.m. in Japan, which is 7 a.m. in South Florida.
You can watch the Opening Ceremony live at 6:55 a.m. on WPTV, but there will be another primetime presentation of the opening at 7:30 p.m. You can see the full schedule for the link above.
The day will begin with the network’s first-ever live morning broadcast of an Opening Ceremony, followed by a special edition of "TODAY" with reaction and athlete interviews and then NBC’s first-ever Olympic Daytime show on the opening Friday of the Games.
2. Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen honored 6 years after their disappearance
Saturday will mark the sixth anniversary of Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen's disappearance.
The boys, who were both 14 years old at the time in 2015, went on a fishing trip from the Jupiter Inlet but were never seen again.
Work through the AustinBlu Foundation began in 2017 to create a statue in their memory. On Thursday, the Stephanos family installed it at the inlet to stand as a memorial for all of the lives lost at sea.
3. South Floridians heading to Cuba in show of support
A big show of support for the Cuban people is coming straight from South Florida.
A group of boaters are headed near Havana, Cuba today. We're told they'll be lighting flares, fireworks, and Chinese lanterns to show support for Cuban protesters.
WPTV anchor Janny Rodriguez recounted her own perilous journey she took with family to escape Cuba when she was just 8 years old. You can read more about her story at the link above.
4. How the U.S. is responding to the Cuban protests:
The Biden administration announced Thursday that they have levied sanctions against Alvaro Lopez Miera, the head of the armed forces in Cuba, and the Cuban Ministry of the Interior’s Special National Brigade, known as the "black berets," for their involvement in the crackdown after historic protests in more than 40 cities across the island.
The sanctions were brought by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) by implementing the Global Magnitsky Act to hold the Cuban regime accountable for violence, repression, and human rights violations.
The United States is working with the private sector and Congress to look for ways to make the internet more accessible to the people of Cuba, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a regular news briefing on Tuesday.
5. NFL warns teams that COVID-19 outbreaks could lead to forfeits in 2021
An NFL memo indicates that if a game is postponed or canceled over a team's COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players and that game cannot be rescheduled within the 18-week regular season, that team will be forced to forfeit the game.
The memo also notes that should a game be forfeited due to a COVID-19 outbreak, neither team's players would receive their salary for that week.
It says that should vaccinated players test positive for the virus, the league will "attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both participating teams."
Today's Forecast
Hot and humid; Increasing rain chances this weekend
Get your complete hour-by-hour forecast here.
First Alert Traffic
Mobile users click here.
On This Day In History
On July 23, 1996, at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team wins its first-ever team gold.
The 1996 U.S. women’s team, nicknamed the “Mag 7″ or “magnificent seven,” was made up of seven immensely talented teenaged girls: Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps and Kerri Strug.
Remember, you can join Mike Trim and Ashleigh Walters every weekday on WPTV NewsChannel 5 beginning at 4:30 a.m. And you can always watch the latest news from WPTV anytime on your favorite streaming device. Just search for "WPTV."
