Actor Samuel E. Wright attends Disney's "The Little Mermaid" special screening at Walter Reade Theater on September 21, 2013 in New York City. SOURCE: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Samuel E. Wright, the actor who voiced Sebastian the crab in Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and sang the film's Oscar-winning song "Under the Sea," has died at the age of 74. Wright's role as a Jamaican crab and adviser to King Triton in the much-loved 1989 Disney film marked the high point of his lengthy career in cinema, television and theater.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/samuel-e-wright-best-known-as-the-voice-of-sebastian-the-crab-in-the-little-mermaid-dies-at-74/36540458

Elizabeth Taylor and John Warner SOURCE: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Former Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, a former Navy secretary who was once married to Elizabeth Taylor, has died at 94, his longtime chief of staff said Wednesday. Susan A. Magill said Warner died Tuesday of heart failure at home in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and daughter at his side.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/john-warner-dies/36541789

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —

NOAA, the organization which oversees the National Hurricane Center, is predicting an active hurricane season for 2021.

The forecast was released Thursday. NOAA is predicting 13-20 named storms. Fourteen named storms are expected on an average year. Six to 10 hurricanes are predicted in 2021, with seven storms being the average. Three to five major hurricanes are expected, with three storms being the average. The announcement comes as the National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring a disturbance near Bermuda, which is expected to strengthen, and possibly become the first named storm of 2021 - well before the start of hurricane season, which is June 1.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/noaa-predicts-an-active-2021-hurricane-season/36490718

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —

Jason Kozuszko said his dog, Kai, was known as the mayor of his Port St. Lucie neighborhood. He was everybody’s friend.

And that’s why everybody is so hurt that Kai was killed by a coyote in his own front yard. “I heard him growl a little bit,” Kozuszko said. “And then I heard him screaming.” It was a week ago Sunday, around 5:30 a.m. Kozuszko was drinking his coffee on the front patio. Kai was in the grass right in front of him.

And just like that, so was the coyote. “I stood up, came over here,” Kozuszko said, pointing to a spot in his front yard. “I yelled, ‘Kai!’ At that point, the coyote had the dog in his mouth.” Kai got away but later died from his injuries. A local trapper said attacks like that are becoming more and more common.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/coyote-kills-pet-dog-with-owner-close-by/36468444

Nationwide labor shortages at food processing plants and transportation companies are causing local restaurants to have food shortages and pay higher prices. "We’ve been here 74 years and we’ve never seen anything like this," said Okeechobee Steakhouse owner Ralph Lewis.

Lewis said there is not a food shortage, but a supply chain problem. "A big part of this comes back to the labor problems, there is a very, very serious labor shortage," he said. Lewis said plants that supply meat and seafood and farmers supplying produce are having trouble hiring workers. And food transportation companies said they are having trouble finding drivers to deliver the food - causing scarcity and price hikes. "Every day we are seeing prices going up from a dollar to ten dollars a pound on some items and others we’re being told you just can’t get them," said Lewis, who had to take crab off his menu along with some type of lobsters. Getting filet mignon has also been difficult.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/restaurants-struggling-with-supply-chain-problems-rising-prices/36452482

Kobe Bryant was officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020 on Saturday night.

"I wish my husband was here to accept this incredible award," Bryant's wife, Vanessa Bryant, said at the ceremony, as she was joined onstage by basketball legend Michael Jordan. "He and Gigi deserved to be here to witness this. Gigi would be so proud to watch her daddy get enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame."

The NBA legend was posthumously elected into the Hall last April in his first year of eligibility -- just months after Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/kobe-bryant-class-of-2020-officially-inducted-basketball-hall-of-fame/36439530

Starting May 15, Publix supermarkets will no longer require fully vaccinated employees or customers to wear face coverings unless required by a state, local order or ordinance. The mass grocery chain made the announcement Friday following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated mask policy.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/publix-makes-masks-optional-for-fully-vaccinated-customers/36435359

Hurricanes can be less stressful if you and your loved ones develop a plan to be prepared. Here's what you should do if a Hurricane Watch has been declared in your area.

Planning:

• Review Your Family Plan
• Screenshot This: Hurricane Supply Shopping Guide

Communications:

• Charge up your cell phones, keep a car charger handy and keep battery backups on hand.
• Have a conventional cord telephone that will work in case of a power outage.
• Download the WPBF 25 News app for weather updates and evacuation orders.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/hurricane-watch-prepare/35970694

ORLANDO, Fla. —

New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance has led Disney to make a major announcement.

It's boosting the parks' capacity.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/disney-increasing-capacity-at-its-parks/36431643

In a move to send the country back toward pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday eased indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places.

The new guidance still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but will help clear the way for reopening workplaces, schools, and other venues — even removing the need for masks or social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated. The CDC will also no longer recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks outdoors in crowds. The announcement comes as the CDC and the Biden administration have faced pressure to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated people — people who are two weeks past their last required COVID-19 vaccine dose — in part to highlight the benefits of getting the shot.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/cdc-mask-guidance/36421451

Ellen DeGeneres will end her namesake talk show next year — at the conclusion of its 19th season, according to a report.

"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" is currently in production of Season 18. DeGeneres will discuss her decision to end the show in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, scheduled to air on Thursday.

Nielsen data shows "Ellen" viewership dropped by 1.1 million people this season, from 2.6 million viewers to 1.5 million viewers.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/ellen-degeneres-talk-show-ends/36408222

Hundreds of cars were turned away Wednesday morning from Marathon gas station along Donald Ross Road and Military Trail.

Hundreds of cars circled Marathon gas station along Donald Ross Road and Military Trail in Jupiter Wednesday morning as people searched for an open gas pump. A gas station attendant told WPBF 25 all 16 pumps were closed until their anticipated fuel delivery was able to arrive.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/fuel-shortage-jupiter-gas-station-closed/36407887

BALTIMORE —

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was treated with an antifungal ointment containing the steroid betamethasone that caused the horse to fail a postrace drug test, trainer Bob Baffert said Tuesday.

In a statement issued by his lawyer, Baffert said Medina Spirit was treated for dermatitis with the ointment once a day leading up to the May 1 race and that equine pharmacology experts have told him this could explain the test results. Baffert said the horse tested positive for 21 picograms of the substance, which is typically given to horses therapeutically to help their joints and is a violation even at a trace amount on race day in Kentucky.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/medina-spirt-kentucky-derby-bob-baffert-drugs/36396731

NEW YORK —

Many Broadway productions are scrambling to resume ticket sales in the coming days to welcome theater-goers this fall after city and state leaders have green-lit a reopening of the Great White Way at full capacity by mid-September. "We remain cautiously optimistic about Broadway's ability to resume performances this fall and are happy that fans can start buying tickets again," Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, said in a statement Wednesday.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/broadway-preparing-for-ticket-sales-for-a-fall-reopening/36345047

BURLINGTON, Vt. —

Running and jumping have been a staple in every Summer Olympics, and now — climbing.

"Such a natural fit from the beginning of time, humans have been climbers to escape danger, and or a variety of reasons, and it's really fun," said Andrea Charest, the owner of Petra Cliffs Indoor Climbing Center in Burlington, Vermont.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/olympic-climbing-will-be-part-of-this-years-games-heres-what-itll-take-to-bring-home-gold/36353607

SB 90 tightens rules for ballot drop boxes and mail-in ballots

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed an elections overhaul that was one of the most-contentious issues of the 2021 legislative session, as opponents immediately filed two lawsuits alleging that the measure is unconstitutional. DeSantis, who will be on the ballot in 2022 as he seeks a second term as governor, signed the bill (SB 90) on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends” after an event with supporters in West Palm Beach.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/gov-desantis-in-west-palm-beach-to-sign-election-reform-bill/36351327

Here's a look at the history of Cinco de Mayo. You may be surprised!

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/surprising-facts-about-cinco-de-mayo/20123966

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

John Velazquez was in a familiar place, in the lead aboard Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby and holding off the stretch bid of three challengers. This time, Bob Baffert couldn't believe what he was seeing. Medina Spirit won by a half-length on Saturday, giving Baffert his seventh victory, the most of any trainer in the race's 147-year history.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/kentucky-derby-2021/36308086

Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher's mother in the romantic comedy "Moonstruck," has died. She was 89. Allison Levy her agent at Innovative Artists said Saturday that Dukakis died Saturday morning in her home in New York City. A cause of death was not immediately released.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/olympia-dukakis-dead-at-89/36307827

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Monday invalidating all remaining local emergency COVID-19 orders. The bill will go into effect on July 1.

DeSantis added that he plans to use his executive powers to suspend those emergency orders from local governments until the bill goes into effect. That executive order will go into effect immediately. "I think this is the evidence-based thing to do," said DeSantis.

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https://www.wpbf.com/article/desantis-covid-19-emergency-orders/36317988