It’s Tuesday, September 14th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Florida cities and counties that require COVID-19 vaccines for employees could face "millions" in fines, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
Speaking at a news conference in Alachua County Monday, DeSantis said such mandates would go against a Florida law passed earlier this year that prevents businesses and government agencies from requiring vaccinations. DeSantis said the decision to get vaccinated is a "personal choice about individual health" that should be made by the employees themselves. In Florida's largest county, Miami-Dade, the police department requires any potential new police officer or new hire under the mayor’s authority to be vaccinated. All current employees are required to get tested regularly, but those who are vaccinated can opt out.
No. 2 - The myths surrounding vaccinations against COVID continue to spread, much like the disease among the unvaccinated.
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The result has been more sickness and death and it can impact the vaccinated as well, said FIU professor Dr. Aileen Marty, refuting those who claim the unvaccinated are only putting themselves at risk. With six million eligible Floridians still not vaccinated, those who become infected and spew the virus more efficiently can spread it among themselves and, to a much lesser degree, to the 11 million who are fully vaccinated. For more on the story, click here for a report from NBC 6 investigator Tony Pipitone.
No. 3 - Six people were hospitalized and 20 others treated for minor injuries after a tank ruptured in the ceiling at Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood Monday morning, officials said.
The incident happened shortly before 10 a.m. at the casino at 4150 N. State Road 7. Fire rescue crews responded and could be seen attending to the victims outside the casino entrance. Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner initially said a mechanical unit had fallen through the roof and into the building. He later said that a contractor was testing and re-certifying the casino’s fire suppression system when a gas tank that's part of the system ruptured. It's a sophisticated system that essentially replaces the air in the room with non-flammable gas in order to put out a fire.
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No. 4 - Ana Lazara Rodriguez said she got an eviction notice posted on the door of her Miami-Dade home over the weekend on Sept. 11.
The former Cuban political prisoner in her 80s says she has hours to figure out where she is going to go, as the third district court of appeals ruled against her emergency motion to stay on Monday. Her attorney says they plan to fight and file another appeal to the full court of appeals. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered that she have one extra day inside her home to help her attorney have every opportunity to figure out a possible solution in the legal system.
No. 5 - With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s moratorium over, many tenants are looking for other protections.
Tenants’ Rights attorney Sean Rowley said it’s now more important for renters facing eviction to know how local city or county ordinances could offer help. Rowley is the advocacy director of the tenants’ rights department with the Legal Services of Greater Miami. He said in Miami-Dade County landlords who accept money from the county’s rental assistance program are required to dismiss a pending eviction case within 10 days. It is also required to pursue an eviction within 60 days of receiving the money. Those same protections are not yet in place in Broward County. For more on your rights, click here for the story from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
No. 6 - We wish we were "kitten," but it actually happened and video of a falling feline at Saturday's Miami Hurricanes football game is littering social media.
What could have been a "catastrophe" was averted thanks to the heads-up work by some fans with cat-like reflexes. The animal somehow got into Hard Rock Stadium, then got caught by one of its paws off the facade of the upper deck in the first quarter. Craig Cromer, who works as a facilities manager at the school, was at the game against Appalachian State with his wife and several friends when they used an American flag they bring to games and stretched it out to break the cat's fall from the upper deck. For more on this “purr”-fect rescue, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Ari Odzer.
