It’s Monday, May 24th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Marleine Bastien says she can finally breathe a deep sigh of relief after years of hard work. The Biden administration announced Saturday that it would redesignate temporary protected status to eligible Haitians who currently live in the U.S.
Close to 2,000 Haitian immigrants have been deported since February. Those who apply for TPS have to prove that they moved to the U.S. before May 22. If approved, the status would last up to 18 months. Local leaders say the decision was long overdue for a community which has contributed so much to the U.S. and to South Florida. Click here for more in a story from NBC 6 reporter Kim Wynne.
No. 2 - Broward County will be administering second doses of the Pfizer vaccine at high schools across the district starting Tuesday.
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The partnership between the Florida Department of Health-Broward County and the Broward County Public Schools is providing the second round of free, voluntary Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations to students, staff and their families ages 12 and up at all public high schools and participating charter high schools in the county. Students younger than18 years of age can be vaccinated without a parent or guardian present if they bring a consent form signed by a parent or guardian with them to the event. The event runs from May 25th to June 1st. For a list of locations, click on this link.
No. 3 - Hundreds of supporters of the Jewish community in South Florida came together to rally in Hallandale Beach Sunday afternoon in support of peace in the Middle East.
This is just one of several that have taken place recently in South Florida after 11 days of turmoil in Israel and the Gaza Strip. A cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has ended the violence for now. In South Florida, a string of attacks on the Jewish community has followed. Hallandale Police are investigating after they say a man shouted anti-Semitic remarks and hurled a bag of human feces at the Chabad of South Broward, just blocks away from where a rally took place. To hear why members of the community are calling for a stop to the violence, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Paxton Boyd.
Local
No. 4 - A Kendall woman had her massage therapist license revoked Sunday, after she offered to administer Botox for $300 without a license.
According to the Florida Department of Health administrative complaint, Liliana Patricia Sanchez “offered to inject Botox into the forehead and/or around the eyes” of undercover investigators from Miami-Dade police and the Department of Health for $300 thereby attempting to practice medicine without a license. In addition to revoking her license, the Board fined Sanchez $10,000 and assessed $1,902.60 in investigative costs.
No. 5 - With the Florida Panthers one game from elimination in the opening round of their Stanley Cup Playoff series, the team will be allowing more fans inside the BB&T Center to root on the Cats.
The team announced Sunday they are increasing capacity to just under 75 percent, or around 15,000 seats, for Monday's Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tickets remain on sale for the game, with puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. Florida dropped Game 4 of its series with the Sunshine State rivals on Saturday and now is down 3-1 in the series. If the Panthers are eliminated by the Lightning, it would be the sixth straight playoff appearance where Florida was knocked out in the first round.
No. 6 - The Miami Heat announced they will be increasing the seating capacity at AmericanAirlines Arena for playoff games.
Beginning on Thursday, May 27, the Heat will increase seating from 8,600 seats to 17,000 seats for when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 of Round 1 of the United in Black Heat Playoffs. This change will remain in place for all remaining playoff games. As a result of this increase in capacity, additional tickets will go on sale on Monday at 4 p.m. To purchase tickets, click here. Although the increase in capacity means the Heat are no longer required to employ physical distancing between seats, other health and safety protocols remain in place.
