It’s Tuesday, June 2nd - and NBC 6 has the top stories you should know for the day.
No. 1 - Another day of protests over police brutality and George Floyd's death ended peacefully after hundreds of protestors marched for hours Monday in Downtown Miami.
For nearly five and a half hours -- ending before the enforced curfew at 9 p.m. in Miami-Dade County -- demonstrators marched for at least five miles. They started at the Torch of Friendship, moved to the AmericanAirlines Arena, and then the Freedom Tower. They then moved to their final destination, the State Attorney's Office, where they demanded Katherine Fernandez-Rundle be voted out of office. Under her tenure, only one officer in three decades has been prosecuted in an on-duty shooting.
No. 2 - The 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew that was issued for Broward County over the weekend amid protests and tense police encounters will remain in effect nightly through the end of the week.
County officials confirmed Monday that the emergency order issuing the curfew would be in place until Sunday, June 7th. In neighboring Miami-Dade County, Mayor Carlos-Gimenez has issued a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly curfew until further notice. On Twitter, he noted that essential workers are exempt from the curfew in order to travel to and from their jobs and conduct their work.
No. 3 - With the protests happening across the country and here in South Florida, medical experts are warning that the pandemic is still not over.
NBC 6’s Sheli Muñiz spoke with former FDA Associate Commissioner and Professor Peter Pitts about the concerns. Click here to see the interview and to learn what you need to do to stay safe.
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No. 4 – The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity launched what they call a 'virtual waiting room' for people trying to access the CONNECT portal.
When asked about this new step, a DEO spokesperson told NBC 6 in an email, “When CONNECT was developed, it was designed to have 1,000 concurrent users at a time." But some Floridians are voicing their concerns about the added step. Click here to see the report from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
No. 5 - The police violence fueling the most recent protests in South Florida is different from those that sparked destructive, sometimes deadly, reactions in the past, says a man who's been there.
Xavier Suarez was mayor in 1989 when a Miami police officer shot to death a motorcyclist, touching off an angry reaction in the historic African-American community of Overtown. Now his son, Francis, presides over the city's response to protests against police killings, like the one in Minneapolis last week of George Floyd, whose death last week sparked nationwide protests. Click here to see what Xavier Suarez had to say in an interview with NBC 6 investigator Tony Pipitone.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, South Florida will feel much more of a breeze Tuesday along with shower chances that pick up for the rest of the week. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
