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. Potential for more strong to severe storms throughout the day
We had a few severe thunderstorm warnings overnight and we'll continue to see the potential for more strong to severe storms throughout the day. We are under a level 1/5 risk for isolated severe storms.
Right now, there's widespread rainfall across the area and more rain will fill in within the next few hours.
Coastal Flood Advisories will go through the weekend due to King Tides with possible beach erosion and coastal flooding.
2. Florida to file another lawsuit against federal govt.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida will file a lawsuit against the federal government's new vaccination rules that were announced Thursday.
The federal policy would affect tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees. Those workers will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly.
Under the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's new rules, companies that fail to comply could face penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation.
3. Cashless tolls on Florida's Turnpike begins Monday
Beginning Monday, Palm Beach County's section of Florida's Turnpike, south to north and through the Treasure Coast, will have an electronic payment system.
An all-electronic tolling (AET) system will enable cashless toll collection through transponders or license plate readers and will eliminate the need for a vehicle to stop to pay a toll.
It will be another three years until all the toll plazas along Florida's Turnpike are removed.
4. Trial in Ahmaud Arbery's death scheduled to begin in Georgia
Three white men are to stand trial Friday for chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man whose death was largely ignored until a leaked cellphone video stirred outrage over the shooting and deepened the national outcry over racial injustice.
Greg McMichael and his adult son, Travis McMichael, armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after they spotted him running in their neighborhood. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded graphic video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun.
Greg McMichael said his son had killed Arbery in self-defense after Arbery attacked with his fists and tried to take Travis McMichael’s gun.
If the defendants are acquitted, their legal troubles won’t be over. They have also been indicted on federal hate crime charges. A U.S. District Court judge has scheduled that trial to begin Feb. 7.
5. Biden’s big bill on brink of House votes, but fights remain
Democrats in the House appear on the verge of advancing President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing domestic policy package alongside a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill in what would be a dramatic political accomplishment — if they can push it to passage.
The House scrapped votes late Thursday but will be back at it early Friday, and White House officials worked the phones to lock in support for the president’s signature proposal.
Half the size of Biden’s initial $3.5 trillion package, the now sprawling 2,135-page bill has won over most of the progressive Democratic lawmakers, even though it is smaller than they wanted. But the chamber’s more centrist and fiscally conservative Democrats continued to mount objections.
First Alert Traffic
Mobile users click here.
On This Day In History
Remember, remember, the 5th of November. On Nov. 5, 1605, early in the morning, King James I of England learns that a plot to explode the Parliament building has been foiled, hours before he was scheduled to sit with the rest of the British government in a general parliamentary session.
At about midnight on the night of November 4-5, Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, found Guy Fawkes lurking in a cellar under the Parliament building and ordered the premises searched. Some 20 barrels of gunpowder were found, and Fawkes was taken into custody. During a torture session on the rack, Fawkes revealed that he was a participant in an English Catholic conspiracy to annihilate England’s Protestant government and replace it with Catholic leadership.
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."
