It’s Monday, June 1st - and NBC 6 has the top stories you should know for the day.
No. 1 - For the second straight night, streets across South Florida were mostly quiet in the overnight hours amid a curfew placed following violent confrontations between police officers and those protesting the death of George Floyd last month in the state of Minnesota.
Shattered shop windows and destroyed police cars in parts of South Florida signaled the aftermath of a tumultuous night of protests early Sunday morning, while peaceful protests in the early evening hours turned chaotic as the hours came closer to a 9 p.m. curfew in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties that didn't expire until 6 a.m. Monday morning. Video has circulated of a Fort Lauderdale officer shoving a protestor moments before tensions escalated, after which the city’s Mayor said the officer in the video was suspended, and a full investigation will be conducted.
No. 2 - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis activated the National Guard in response to the weekend's protests, according to the governor's spokesperson on Twitter.
Officials say there are 150 guardsmen in Miramar who will be used to support law enforcement. There are also 100 guardsmen in Tampa and 150 in Camp Blanding. Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina held a press conference and added that, of the 57 people that were arrested last night, 13 were Miami residents. The others, he says, came from Minnesota, New York and Georgia. However, Miami-Dade Corrections officials confirmed 30 of the 57 people arrested were from Miami-Dade County. Another eleven lived within Broward and Palm Beach County.
No. 3 - After protestors clashed with officers in downtown Miami that included burned cars and damage to shops in some areas, Miami-Dade County announced the delaying of beach reopenings that were scheduled for Monday.
Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced the decision late Sunday morning, adding the delay would continue until a curfew that was put into place Saturday night was lifted. Miami Beach and Key Biscayne both announced their reopenings would be delayed as well. Pools at several parks, including Goulds Park, A.D. Barnes Park and Oak Grove Park, will reopen as scheduled while hotels will also be able to expand accommodations as scheduled.
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No. 4 - Checkpoints leading into the Florida Keys are coming down two months after being set up to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
The checkpoints that are being removed early Monday were put into place in March to keep tourists from entering the chain of islands in an effort to blunt the outbreak. More than 18,750 cars coming from the mainland were turned away because drivers did not present the proper paperwork that showed they either worked or lived in the Florida Keys, said Kristen Livengood, a county spokeswoman. Officials are warning residents to keep up their vigilance as the Florida Keys reopens to visitors.
No. 5 - June 1st brings the first day of the 2020 hurricane season to residents across the United States - and concern to the state of Florida as two named storms already formed before the first day of the season.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting an "above-normal" 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, with 13 to 19 named storms. NOAA forecasters said that six to 10 of those storms will become hurricanes and three to six of those would become major hurricanes with 111 mph winds or higher. Last month’s Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha briefly popped up, marking the sixth straight year a named storm came in May or earlier.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, June starts hot and muggy across South Florida, but a front arriving later on Monday could bring some wet weather early this week. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
