Miami

6 Things to Know – Your Top Stories For Monday, December 31

What to Know

  • It’s the final day of 2018 – and NBC 6 has the top six stories you need to know for December 31st.

It’s the final day of 2018 – and NBC 6 has the top six stories you need to know for December 31st.

Weather wise, South Florida will end the year with warm and humid temperatures in the upper 70s with clear skies in time for fireworks at midnight.

No. 1 - Manny Diaz is back at Miami, before he ever left after a whirlwind day for the Hurricanes that has Diaz taking over as the school's head football coach.

Diaz agreed Sunday night to become Miami's coach — hours after Mark Richt stunned the school by announcing his retirement. The Hurricanes announced the move about 10 hours after Richt's retirement was made public.

No. 2 - Preparations are finishing up in South Florida for big New Year’s Eve festivities.

Crews across South Florida are hard at work in Bayfront Park where Pitbull will be hosting a big New Year’s Eve concert. Nearby, the traditional big orange will make its reveal as the clock ticks closer to midnight at the Intercontinental Hotel.

No. 3 - An online petition is urging the City of Miami and other officials to allow a massive mural of a Puerto Rican flag to remain at a building housing a new restaurant.

The three-floor building, located in Miami's MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District, was painted by Puerto Rican artist Héctor Collazo Hernández in late December.

No. 4 - Three confidants of President Donald Trump, including his departing chief of staff, are indicating that the president's signature campaign pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would not be fulfilled as advertised.

White House chief of staff John Kelly told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Sunday that Trump abandoned the notion of "a solid concrete wall early on in the administration."

No. 5 - A bill scheduled to be introduced to the Florida House during the upcoming session is aimed at protecting monuments across the state – include statues, street names and other Confederate memorials that have been the subject of controversy in recent years.

House Bill 97, which was filed December 12th by Rep. Mike Hill from Pensacola, makes it a felony to move or damage any remembrance designated after March 1822 on public property except for construction, repair or improvements.

No. 6 - Officials say a hungry raccoon caused a brief power for more than 3,000 customers in central Florida.

Kissimmee Utility Authority spokesman Chris Gent tells the Orlando Sentinel the raccoon climbed inside the utility's airport substation on Sunday afternoon and downed three primary feeder lines.

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