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. Millions of cellphones, home alarms to be cut off when 3G service ends
Cell phone carriers will be dropping 3G service sooner than many realize. AT&T will begin shutting down its 3G service tomorrow.
Verizon and T-Mobile will also end their 3G service later this year. It's all part of an FCC plan to free up the spectrum for 5G.
The Associated Press warns that 1.5 million families still have 3G home alarms, which also need to be upgraded.
2. Florida reports 1,330 more COVID-19 deaths as cases and hospitalizations decline
Florida's coronavirus cases are dramatically decreasing, with 32,373 in one week, about one third of a week ago.
Two other key indicators are also trending downsignificantly — positivity rates and hospitalizations — with death numbers steady and slightly up to 1,330 recorded last week.
Florida's COVID-19 fatalities rose to a cumulative 68,902, which is third in the nation.
3. Getting a bill for the COVID-19 vaccine or at-home test kits? Here's what to do
The US government is spending billions of dollars on the COVID-19 vaccines, and on at-home test kits. So why are some people being charged for the shots they got last year?
While the vaccine itself is free, paid for by taxpayers, some hospitals and doctors groups have been adding an "administrative" fee.
An insurance trade group -- AHIP -- told the Times "health insurance providers should pay for the administrative fees." That mean if you receive a bill, you should call your insurance company and ask them to remove the charge.
4. Spring training postponed as MLB lockout continues
On Friday, Major League Baseball announced that spring training had been delayed and would not start earlier than March 5, after the league and its player's association couldn't reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, according to multiple reports.
Seven MLB teams do their spring training in South Florida and the Treasure Coast.
In a statement, the league said it would meet with MLBPA on Monday for an in-person meeting and "remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard towards starting the season on time."
According to the Associated Press, several things players and owners remain can't agree on include luxury-tax thresholds and rates, revenue-sharing, and how to address players' allegations of service time manipulation.
5. Biden agrees to meet with Putin ‘in principle’ if Russia has not invaded Ukraine
Heavy shelling is continuing Monday in the conflict in eastern Ukraine that is feared will spark the Russian offensive.
French President Emmanuel Macron sought to broker a possible meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a series of phone calls that dragged into the night.
Macron’s office said both leaders had both “accepted the principle of such a summit” to be followed by a broader summit meeting on security and strategic stability in Europe.
The White House press secretary said Biden accepts “in principle” a meeting with Putin if Russia doesn't invade.
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On This Day In History
February 21, 1965: In New York City, Malcolm X, an African American nationalist and religious leader, is assassinated while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. He was 39.
Three members of the Nation of Islam—Mujahid Abdul Halim, Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam—were soon after charged with first-degree murder. Islam and Aziz maintained their innocence, and during the 1966 trial, Halim confessed to the crime and testified that Islam and Aziz were innocent. All three men were found guilty, however, and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
In 2021, Aziz and Islam were exonerated after an investigation that included the discovery of key FBI documents withheld from the defense and prosecution during the trial. Aziz was 83 at the time of the exoneration; Islam had died in 2009.
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."
