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. The elections bill has been signed, sealed and sued:
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed Florida's elections reform bill into law, which includes restrictions on voting by mail and ballot drop boxes, Thursday morning in West Palm Beach.
The bill-signing event, which was closed to local media and took place live on Fox News, was held at the Hilton by Palm Beach International Airport.
Shortly after DeSantis signed the bill, the League of Women Voters joined the Black Voters Matter Fund, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and several individual Florida voters to file a lawsuit challenging the law.
2. Double the fair, double the fun?
For the first time in 109 years, the South Florida Fair will be held in May. Gates open for the annual event at 10 a.m. today.
Because of COVID-19 considerations, a mini-fair was held in January, but organizers had only outdoor events and rides for kids.
This time, a full fair inside the expo center and full fun outside with kids and adult rides.
3. Florida finally hits its target coronavirus positivity rate
Florida's daily first-time coronavirus positivity rate has finally dropped below the target 5 percent for the first time in more than six months at 4.99.
While it's an improvement, Florida had the most cases in the U.S. for the second day in a row with 4,504 after 4,394, and deaths increased by 71 after 79, the Florida Health Department announced Thursday afternoon.
Until Wednesday, Florida was No. 1 for increased deaths in the U.S. for 12 days, but it has gone 40 days in a row without 100 or more increased deaths in one day.
4. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Chinese rocket?
The largest section of the rocket that launched the main module of China's first permanent space station into orbit is expected to plunge back to Earth as early as Saturday at an unknown location.
Usually, discarded core, or first-stage, rockets reenter soon after liftoff, generally over water, and don't go into orbit as this one did. Defense Department spokesperson Mike Howard said that the "exact entry point into the Earth's atmosphere" can't be pinpointed until within hours of reentry.
If you saw mysterious bright lights in the sky on Wednesday, that wasn't the Chinese rocket. The NWS said the lights looked to be associated with a SpaceX rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Center.
5. Delray Beach staff failed to disclose illness potentially connected to drinking city water
The city of Delray Beach failed to disclose to the Florida Department of Health a report of a resident potentially getting sick from drinking water mixed with reclaimed water, according to a new report by the Palm Beach County Office of Inspector General.
The OIG was "unable to determine whether the reported illness was actually caused by the city's drinking water," according to the report.
The city's response to the investigation is included in the report, which notes a "breakdown in communication occurred with mid-level management" who did not notify upper management of the possible report of illness.
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On This Day In History
Called the U.S.'s first ambassador to Japan, a 14-year-old fisherman by the name of Manjiro is considered America's first Japanese immigrant, arriving in the country on May 7, 1843, by way of a whaling ship.
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