It’s Friday, May 22nd - and NBC 6 has the top stories you need to know for the day.
No. 1 - Police are seaching for a missing 9-year-old boy they say was abducted Thursday night in southwest Miami-Dade while in a car with his mother
Officers responded to the parking lot of a Home Depot at 15750 SW 88th Street looking for Alejandro Ripley, who has autism and is non-verbal. Ripley and his mother, 47-year-old Patricia Ripley, were being followed when she said they were ambushed by two men who allegedly demanded drugs before taking both Alejandro and her cell phone from the car and fled southbound Anyone with information on his whereabouts should called 911 immediately or Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers.
No. 2 - The stay-at-home orders have been lifted, but so far South Florida is not seeing a mad rush to the stores after two months of closures due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Retail businesses and restaurants want their customers back, but it appears consumers are taking a phased-in approach too when it comes to heading out. In Midtown Miami Thursday, some of the retailers haven’t opened their doors yet. They are choosing not to do so even with the green light now from the city. Click here for the story from NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard.
No. 3 - Unemployment applications continue to roll in to the state’s unemployment agency, but thousands of people are still waiting to be paid.
The latest information from the U.S. Department of Labor shows more than 223,000 first-time unemployment claims were filed last week in Florida. The Labor Department reports for the week ending May 9, Florida had the largest increase in initial claims compared to other states. Click here for more on the story from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
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No. 4 - CVS Health announced Thursday that it would be expanding its COVID-19 testing program by setting up 37 new drive-thru test sites across the state of Florida.
Previously, CVS had already rolled out 10 drive-thru test sites in Florida. The new sites can be found at CVS Pharmacy locations all around the state, and will open on Friday, May 22. Click here for a complete location on drive-thru sites in South Florida.
No. 5 - A famed street artist is offering a $15,000 reward after his Range Rover that had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of artwork inside was stolen from his Miami driveway.
On Thursday morning, Miami police responded to a home in north Miami, where a white Range Rover was stolen with four paintings inside. The paintings were original works by Los Angeles-based graffiti artist Alec Monopoly. Monopoly says the car was locked and inside were four of his canvas paintings that he was planning on moving to a storage facility.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, South Florida could catch a break with rain chances dropping slightly for Friday and entering Memorial Day weekend. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
