It’s Friday, June 3rd - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - South Florida is in store for what could be a very wet weekend due to what could be the first named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.
Potential Tropical Cyclone One formed Thursday and is expected to bring heavy rainfall and possible flooding to South Florida. The National Weather Service issued a Tropical Storm Warning for parts of South Florida until further notice, including the Florida Keys and portions of the west coast as well as both Miami-Dade and Broward counties while including a Flood Watch is in effect for coastal Miami-Dade and a Flood Advisory for Broward. If it develops into a tropical storm, which forecasters said is possible, it would be named Alex. At this time, it looks like more a rain impact than a wind impact, but that rain could be very heavy on Friday and Saturday.
No. 2 - Several cities across South Florida will be distributing sandbags to residents ahead of the expected weekend arrival of what is now Potential Tropical Cyclone One.
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The city of Fort Lauderdale will distribute free sandbags at Mills Pond Park (2201 NW 9th Avenue) from 8 a.m. to noon. The city of Pompano Beach will also distribute free bags to residents with proof of residency from 8 a.m. to noon at 1660 NE 10th Street with a maximum of 10 bags per home. Other cities, including Lauderhill and Pembroke Pines, will also be giving out bags to residents. Click here for a complete list.
No. 3 - Detectives with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office have successfully identified human remains found as those of a teen missing from Broward County for nearly a half century.
PBSO said the remains were found the morning of June 16, 1974, in a swampy area of Singer Island, located in North Palm Beach. The investigation at the time determined the remains were those of a female between 15 and 20 years of age. DNA was entered into the National Data Base for unidentified persons and genealogy was performed in November 2021. The victim was identified as a 15-year-old Susan Poole, who is believed to have disappeared before Christmas Day in 1972 from her home at a trailer park in Fort Lauderdale. Detectives believe Poole may have been the victim of serial killer Gerard Schaefer, who was a former Martin County Sheriff's Office deputy and former police officer in Wilton Manors.
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No. 4 - Police arrested a man they said had a gun inside his car on the campus of a southwest Miami-Dade high school and allegedly threatened his girlfriend with it.
19-year-old Ethan Duey was arrested Wednesday and faces several charges, including possession of a firearm on school property and aggravated assault. According to an arrest report, security monitors at Miami Palmetto Senior High School were notified by a female student at the school that she had just gotten into a verbal argument with Duey and he may have had a gun with him in his car. Miami-Dade Police made contact with Duey and placed him in custody. A K-9 dog was called and searched Duey's car, finding a loaded 9mm handgun inside the car. The student said Duey had threatened to flatten her tires and shoot her with the gun, adding the couple had a history of physical abuse.
No. 5 - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a $109.9 billion state budget bill on Thursday that includes pay raises for state workers and law enforcement, as well as tax suspensions on gas, diapers and school supplies.
The Republican governor signed the budget legislation at an event in The Villages, the nation's largest retirement community, where supporters packed out a recreation center and applauded as he highlighted his pandemic policies and spending priorities while criticizing Democratic President Joe Biden. Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled statehouse approved the budget in March on a largely bipartisan basis after a legislative session dominated by bitter partisan fights over bills involving race, sex, gender and abortion.
No. 6 - Lolita the killer whale is getting better, but she’s not completely recovered from an illness that essentially forced her retirement from performing at Miami Seaquarium.
That’s the assessment from two world-renowned veterinarians who examined the Seaquarium’s orca recently. The park’s new owners, The Dolphin Company, did something Miami-Dade County’s mayor and whale activists have been demanding for months, which is to allow independent experts to examine Lolita — also known as Toki — because she had been sick for months. Friends of Lolita collaborated with the county and the Seaquarium to bring in the outside veterinarians. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Ari Odzer.
