It’s Thursday, May 27th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - The reward for information in the fatal shooting of a 3-year-old at a party in Miami-Dade last month surpassed $67,000 Wednesday, as family members continued to plead for help from the community in finding the boy's killer.
Officials announced the reward for information in the killing of Elijah LaFrance was up to $67,500 through Crime Stoppers, Miami-Dade Police, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The reward increase came as family members were holding a public plea for information in the shooting. LaFrance was shot and killed the night of April 24 at a home on Northeast 158th Street in Golden Glades as family members gathered for a birthday celebration for him and his sister. To hear his mother’s emotional pleas, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Alyssa Hyman.
No. 2 - Royal Caribbean Group has been approved to resume sailings in the United States, with the first cruise to depart next month from South Florida.
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The Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Edge is scheduled to depart from Port Everglades June 26, making it the first revenue cruise approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to sail from the U.S. since the start of the pandemic. The Royal Caribbean Group says the crew will be vaccinated, and everyone over the age of 16 must present proof of vaccination -- with plans to eventually lower the age to 12. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a law that bars businesses from asking customers for proof of vaccination.
No. 3 - The crime crackdown has begun. Miami Beach is already ramping up security ahead of the often chaotic Memorial Day weekend.
After past years of arrests and issues across some of the city’s most popular night spots, what does the city plan to do to keep residents and tourists safe this upcoming weekend? Click here for the story as NBC 6’s Jamie Guirola has a closer look at what’s being done to control the crowds.
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No. 4 - One of the world’s top electronic music festivals is returning to downtown Miami next year with the blessing of neighbors who have complained about the event in the past.
Organizers of the Ultra Music Festival announced Tuesday an agreement to settle tensions with the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, the Miami Herald reported. The association representing 13 downtown condominium towers will no longer seek to remove the event from Bayfront Park. Ultra said in a statement it would address issues like construction schedules, park closures, noise monitoring and traffic management. Ultra was set to return to downtown Miami in March 2020, but a nationwide coronavirus lockdown going into effect just days before the festival forced its cancelation. The event was postponed for another year this past March, set to return in 2022.
No. 5 - Schoolteacher Dorothy Brochey’s family says she had a plan – passing her Miami Gardens home on to the next generation. It’s what her mother did, and she was hoping to do the same.
Sadly, Dorothy died before she had a chance to give her sister legal authority over her home and her money matters. A full year after Dorothy’s death, her sister finally had legal authority over her affairs, but it was too late. The home was already in foreclosure. When she died, Dorothy only owed about $8,500 to pay off the loan. But Smith says the lender added more than three times of what was owed in extra fees. Click here to find out what came next in a story from NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard.
No. 6 - The Florida Panthers will get to spend yet another summer thinking about an early exit from the postseason.
Rookie goalie Spencer Knight allowed three goals and the rival Tampa Bay Lightning added an empty net goal late in the third period for a 4-0 victory Wednesday, giving them a 4-2 series victory in their first-round matchup. Andrei Vasilevskiy pitched the first shutout of the series for either team, stopping 29 shots in helping the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning advance to the second round, where they will face either Carolina or Nashville. Florida, who finished ahead of the Lightning in the Central Division and faced their Sunshine State rivals in eight straight games, has now been eliminated in the first round in six straight playoff appearances.
