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6 Things to Know: How ValuJet Crash Changed Safety Regulations, Pipeline Attack Causing Some to Hoard Gas

It’s Wednesday, May 12th - and NBC 6 has your top stories for the day

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It’s Wednesday, May 12th - and NBC 6 has your top stories for the day.

No. 1 - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Tuesday amid concerns of gas shortages and price hikes after a cyberattack on a critical U.S. fuel pipeline.

The executive order signed by DeSantis activates the Florida National Guard, as need, and directs state emergency management officials to work with federal and local officials. The Colonial Pipeline shut down Friday after a ransomware attack by gang of criminal hackers that calls itself DarkSide. Nikki Fried, Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said in a statement Monday that she was aware of the potential disruption in fuel supply but urged Floridians to not panic buy, hoard, or wait in long lines for gas as locations across South Florida are not seen as being at risk.

No. 2 - A man arrested following the disappearance of a young mother in South Florida is now facing new charges, including second-degree murder.

Shannon Ryan, 39, was arrested this past August following an FBI investigation into the disappearance of 21-year-old Leila Cavett. The Hollywood Police Department announced Tuesday that Ryan also faces charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Back in April, the state dropped a kidnapping charge against Ryan - a self-described witch and chakra master - but added a child neglect charge without great bodily harm. Cavett, of Atlanta, was last seen on the night of July 25, just hours before her son was found wandering alone in a shirt and diaper at a Miramar apartment complex. The mother and son had arrived in South Florida the day before she went missing.

No. 3 - The Broward County School Board narrowly approved a separation agreement with Superintendent Robert Runcie.

The board approved the deal, worth nearly $755,000, with a 5-4 vote Tuesday. Runcie gets 20 weeks of severance pay plus 90 days' notice of resignation salary, plus accrued vacation days and sick days, medical benefits and more. Initially, the Board offered 30 days instead of the 90 in his contract. Runcie offered his resignation after a grand jury investigating the circumstances surrounding the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School indicted him on a perjury charge last month.

No. 4 - A 28-year-old woman posed as a student and snuck into a high school in Hialeah to try to promote her Instagram page, police said.

Audrey Nicole Francisquini was arrested on burglary and other charges after she entered American Senior High School through the front entrance Monday morning, police said. According to an arrest report, Francisquini was able to blend in with students by wearing a backpack, carrying a skateboard and dressing similar to them. Once she was inside the school, Francisquini approached numerous students and gave them printed pamphlets with her Instagram name on it and asked them to follow her, the report said.

No. 5 - A memorial was held Tuesday to honor the lives lost 25 years ago when ValuJet Flight 592 went down in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 people on board. 

Retired police divers and firefighters gathered with other first responders to remember the victims and shed tears over what they witnessed that day. ValuJet Flight 592 took off from Miami to Atlanta on May 11, 1996. But about 10 minutes later, it plunged in the Everglades. The aircraft submerged in the muck about 10 miles West of the Miccosukee Casino. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the plane crashed after oxygen canisters ignited a fire in the cargo bay. Aviv Tzur, who now is the president of the Greater Miami Aviation Association, told NBC 6 the tragedy brought big changes. Click here for what those changes are in a story from NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard.

No. 6 - May is stroke awareness month and knowing the signs of a stroke can be the difference between life and death. For Eric Jacobowitz, he never thought it would happen to him.

The firefighter and paramedic with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue was used to saving lives, but in November of 2019, he was the one who needed saving when he suffered a stroke. The 30-year-old said he had done fire training a few days before, but never noticed anything odd beforehand. He was doing a long workout at Freakin' Crossfit in Pembroke Pines when he started feeling off. The gym owner, Storm Kaufman, immediately noticed something wasn't right. To hear how quick thinking saved Jacobowitz’s life and the message for others, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Amanda Plasencia.

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