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. Mask on! Palm Beach County mandates face masks
Palm Beach County commissioners voted unanimously in favor of requiring face masks to be worn inside public buildings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus is continuing to surge in Florida, rising by 3,286 cases in one day. Including nonresidents, the death toll is 3,333, a figure that the state is not reporting.
2. Gov. DeSantis changing the way hospitals report ICU bed availability
Florida’s Surgeon General says he doesn’t just want hospitals to report the number of patients in ICU beds. He only wants the number who require a "intensive level of care." He noted that some hospitals have COVID-19 units inside their ICU’s, but not all of those patients require the same level of care.
3. Play ball! MLB to finally start it's season
After weeks of wrangling, the MLB Players’ Association told MLB that players will be ready to report on July 1 for a second Spring Training.
Teams will conduct a 60-game season. Most teams will conduct their preseason training in their home cities instead of utilizing Spring Training facilities.
The length of the season has been greatly reduced from 162 games after MLB suspended the season in March. The regular season is expected to begin on July 23 or 24.
4. Is it coronavirus or is it just allergies from a 'Godzilla' dust cloud?
A massive cloud of Sahara Desert dust is blanketing the Caribbean as it heads toward the U.S. with a size and concentration that experts say hasn’t been seen in half a century.
Air quality across most of the Caribbean region fell to record “hazardous” levels and experts who nicknamed the event the “Godzilla dust cloud” warned people to stay indoors and use air filters if they have one.
There is some good news. The National Weather Service says the dust plume will calm tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico and it will make more beautiful sunsets.
5. Ready to go to the movies? Hard Rock Stadium opens drive-in
Get ready to spend July at the movies with the Miami Dolphins.
Fourteen films are on tap in July, including classics like "Jaws" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."
Seven movies will be shown on the screens inside the stadium, which serves as a drive-in theater, while another seven will be shown at the open-air theater outside the stadium.
You can find the schedule at the link above.
Today's Forecast
Mostly sunny hot and humid as highs climb into the low 90s once again
Get your complete hour-by-hour forecast here.
On This Day In History
On June 24, 1993, Yale University computer science professor David Gelernter is seriously injured while opening his mail when a padded envelope explodes in his hands. The bomb was from the “Unabomber.” The bombings, along with 14 others since 1978 that killed 3 people and injured 23 others, were eventually linked to Theodore John Kaczynski, a former mathematician from Chicago.
Remember, you can join Mike Trim and Ashleigh Walters every weekday on WPTV NewsChannel 5 beginning at 4:30 a.m.
