Forecast Looks Good For Upcoming Launch
(Cape Canaveral, FL) -- The weather forecast by the Air Force shows launch conditions are 80- percent Go so far for Thursday's launch at Cape Canaveral. United Launch Alliance will blast off a rocket that will carry a Mars rover called Perseverance and a helicopter called Ingenuity. The mission is designed to find signs of current or past life on Mars.
Man Accused Of Threats Against BLM Protesters
(Orlando, FL) -- Online threats have a man behind bars following an arrest in Orange County. Alex Bancroft was arrested this weekend in Orlando after he allegedly threatened, on Facebook, last week to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters. The arrest was made after Polk County deputies sent a tip to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. The 30-year-old Bancroft is a Hillsborough resident, and that's where he'll be sent to face a felony charge of written threat to kill or do bodily injury.
Confederate Protests Held In St. Augustine
(St. Augustine, FL) -- Efforts continue to overturn a controversial decision in St. Augustine. The city commission voted last month to remove the Confederate War Memorial at Plaza de la Constitucion. Those who oppose the decision protested yesterday, but those who support the memorial's removal were also there. Police were there to keep the peace, and no arrests were announced.
Neighbors Protest Hialeah Funeral Home
(Hialeah, FL) -- Neighbors in Miami-Dade County are worried about a new addition at a funeral home. Hialeah's San Jose Funeral Home in Los Portales recently installed a refrigerated container. It sits outside the funeral home on East Fourth Ave, and neighbors are concerned it contains the bodies of coronavirus victims. Neighbors who protested yesterday want the container removed for health reasons, but the funeral home tells 7News there's no risk to the community.
UFO Researcher Claims Sightings Are Up 50 Percent During Pandemic
(Undated) -- A UFO researcher says sighting of unidentified flying objects are up more than 50 percent during the pandemic. Chris Rutkowski tracks the sightings by UFO organizations, from the Canadian government and through social media. He said a lot of the increase is coming from ordinary people looking up at the sky. He told CTV that most of the cases can be explained, but that about three percent cannot.
Police Respond To Call of Loose Panther, Find Stuffed Animal
(England) -- British police are breathing a sigh of relief after responding to a call of a loose panther. Officers in West Sussex, England were called to a public park Thursday night after a reported sighting of a "large apex predator." After shining a few flashlights, police realized that the black panther was actually a stuffed animal on a park bench. The police department admitted on Twitter that officers responding to the call didn't realize it when they first arrived.
Meteorologist Fired After Comparing Federal Troops In U.S. Cities To Nazis
(Denver, CO) -- A meteorologist in Denver is out of a job after comparing federal troops in U.S. cities to Nazis on social media. Marty Coniglio had been at 9-News for 16 years and confirmed his departure to the Denver Post. Coniglio tweeted Thursday morning "Federal police in cities ... now where have I seen that before?" with a picture of Nazi soldiers posing in front of a banner with a swastika on it. The post came the same day President Trump said he would be sending troops into Democratic-run cities to combat local crime.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2018, The New Yorker published allegations of sexual misconduct against CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves.
2015, Boy Scouts of America ended its ban on openly gay leaders and employees.
1996, a pipe bomb explosion at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park cast a dark cloud over Olympic Summer games in Atlanta.
1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of recommending President Nixon's impeachment for obstruction of justice in the Watergate case.
1940, Bugs Bunny made his official debut in a Warner Brothers animated cartoon.
1909, Orville Wright set a record for the longest airplane flight while testing the U.S. Army's first airplane. He kept the plane aloft for one hour and 46 minutes.