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! You can watch the latest LIVE on WPTV here from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.
1. 'You don't belong in this development,' Wellington man yells at teen in now-viral video
A group of teenagers out for a ride on a golf cart Sunday in Wellington when they were accosted by a man who they believe singled out one girl because of her race.
"You don't belong in this development," a man said to the girls, whose cellphone recording of the incident has gone viral. "I'm going to call the gate and have you all arrested," he said. "You do not deserve to be in here."
When the girl's grandfather walked out of his house, one girl shouted at the man, "You said you were going to hit us with the car."
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, deputies received two calls about the incident but determined there was no crime committed.
2. 'Why does nothing ever turn out like it should?' Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party canceled
Poor Jack Skellington! In an update about seasonal events at Walt Disney World, park officials announced that the 2020 'Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party' at Magic Kingdom is canceled, as many of its hallmarks -- like fireworks, parades, and stage shows -- cannot take place in the current environment.
Looking even further ahead, they said they are monitoring conditions for 'Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party' and the 'EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays,' including the Candlelight Procession. A decision on those events will be made later.
3. Goodbye, "Gator Bait"
The long-held chant of the Florida Gators is going away.
University of Florida President Kent Fuchs said Thursday that the school will do away with the cheer during athletic events.
"While I know of no evidence of racism associated with our 'Gator Bait' cheer at UF sporting events, there is horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase," Fuchs said. "Accordingly, university athletics and the Gator Band will discontinue the use of the cheer."
Black babies were used as alligator bait in the Sunshine State as recently as 1923, and the term "alligator bait" was used as a racial slur referring to black children from Florida.
4. State coronavirus cases surge by record 3,207
State coronavirus cases skyrocketed by a record 3,207 and additional deaths climbed in one day from to 43.
Testing has ramped up, but the overall positive rate also has been trending up in the past week -- from 5.3 percent to 5.7 percent in one week -- and 12.4 percent in daily tests reported Thursday.
5. One less hat in the ring: Sen. Amy Klobuchar will not be Biden’s running mate
Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she is no longer interested in being Joe Biden’s running mate in this fall’s presidential election.
Klobuchar cited her desire to see a woman of color as part of the reason she is taking herself out of the running. Biden, who previously said he would likely choose a woman as his running mate, has received pressure to choose a minority to be his running mate in the weeks since the death of George Floyd.
With Klobuchar’s past as a prosecutor, and given Floyd was killed by officers in Klobuchar’s home state, many pundits believed her viability as a running mate dropped.
Today's Forecast
More rain and storms today with rain chances highest this afternoon into the evening.
Get your complete hour-by-hour forecast here.
On This Day In History
In what is now known as Juneteenth, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrive in Texas with news that the Civil War is over and slavery in the United States is abolished.
A mix of June and 19th, Juneteenth has become a day to commemorate the end of slavery in America. Despite the fact that President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued more than two years earlier on January 1, 1863, a lack of Union troops in the rebel state of Texas made the order difficult to enforce.
Some historians blame the lapse in time on poor communication in that era, while others believe Texan slave-owners purposely withheld the information.
Remember, you can join Mike Trim and Ashleigh Walters every weekday on WPTV NewsChannel 5 beginning at 4:30 a.m.
