It’s Friday, May 29th - and NBC 6 has the top stories you need to know for the day.
No. 1 - Floridians will be able to save on hurricane supplies beginning Friday under the state's sales tax holiday.
This year's Disaster Preparedness sales tax holiday runs from Friday to June 4. Among the items included in the holiday are batteries, generators, weather radios and fuel cans. For a complete list, click on this link for more.
No. 2 - A week after 9-year-old Alejandro Ripley was allegedly murdered by his mother, a Miami-Dade community organized a vigil Thursday near the water where his body was found.
Most who attended didn't know him personally, but they said they wanted to give their love. Strangers lit candles, placed flowers and prayed. Police charged his mother, Patricia Ripley, with premeditated murder. Parents, mental health and disability experts are trying to sort out why the tragedy took place and what led her to allegedly kill her son, who had autism and was non-verbal.
No. 3 - Protests over the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody, continue to rage in Minneapolis.
Late Thursday night, cheering protesters broke into a Minneapolis police precinct station after the department abandoned it, setting it ablaze and igniting fireworks. A police spokesman confirmed late Thursday that staff had evacuated the 3rd precinct station, the focus of many of the protests, "in the interest of the safety of our personnel" shortly after 10 p.m. Mayor Jacob Frey made his first public appearance of the night at City Hall near 2 a.m. and took responsibility for evacuating the precinct, saying it had become too dangerous for officers there.
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No. 4 - As the coronavirus pandemic continues across Florida, those still waiting for their unemployment benefits are growng more and more frustrated each day.
NBC 6 Responds asked the state's Department of Economic Opportunity about a viewer’s concerns over the frequency of benefit payments. Click here to see the story from consumer investigator Alina Machado.
No. 5 - South Florida looked more like Venice, Italy after over three days straight of heavy rain.
While Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz acknowledged the major amounts of rainfall, he’s now pointing fingers at South Florida Water Management District. On its website, South Florida Water Management District says it was proactive opening the gates to release water from canals and turned on pumps before the storms. For more on this war of words, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Amanda Plasencia.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, South Florida looks to have a sunny and drier Friday and weekend with rain chances dropping to an afternoon shower. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
