It’s Tuesday, April 5th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - A North Miami Beach condominium building was being evacuated Monday after it was deemed to be structurally unsafe, city officials said.
The owners of Bayview 60 Homes at 3800 Northeast 168th Street requested the city order an immediate evacuation of residents from the five-story building, the city said in a statement. Footage showed residents leaving the building with suitcases and a police command center on the street outside the building. The request was made after a structural engineer firm hired by the property owners submitted a letter Monday that deemed the building structurally unsafe after months of investigation. The owner had been repairing units since July in advance of the building's upcoming 50-year recertification inspections.
No. 2 - A man accused of fatally shooting his wife at a Jewish community center in Miami-Dade over the weekend is a person of interest in the 2014 disappearance of a young mother from Fort Lauderdale, officials said.
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Carl Watts, 45, is facing charges of second-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon in Sunday's fatal shooting in the pool area at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center on Northeast 25th Avenue. Miami-Dade Police officials said he showed up at the center and fatally shot his wife, identified by family members as 30-year-old Shandell Harris, as Harris was attending her daughter's swimming lesson. It was also revealed on Monday that Watts is still considered a person of interest in the 2014 disappearance of Trukita Scott, according to Fort Lauderdale Police. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Cristian Benavides.
No. 3 - The first day of jury selection in the worst U.S. mass shooting to go to trial was slow, methodical and painstaking — a process that is expected to drag on for two months.
More than 120 of the first 160 prospective jurors who filed through Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s courtroom on Monday were dismissed. Most said it would be impossible for them to serve from June through September. That's the amount of time it is expected to take for lawyers to present their cases in a trial that will end with a jury deciding whether Nikolas Cruz gets life in prison or a sentence of death for murdering 17at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. A few were dismissed because of health issues, because they don't speak English fluently or because they had already paid for extensive vacations.
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No. 4 - Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced Monday night they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic elevation to the Supreme Court, giving President Joe Biden's nominee a burst of bipartisan support and all but assuring she'll become the first Black female justice.
The senators from Alaska and Utah announced their decisions ahead of a procedural vote to advance the nomination and as Democrats pressed to confirm Jackson by the end of the week. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced last week that she would back Jackson, noting her "stellar qualifications” as a federal judge, public defender and member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. All three Republicans said they did not expect to agree with all of Jackson's decisions, but they found her extremely well qualified. Romney said Jackson “more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity." Murkowski said she will “bring to the Supreme Court a range of experience from the courtroom that few can match given her background in litigation.”
No. 5 - New York City is launching a digital billboard campaign to lure Floridians unhappy with their state's so-called “Don't Say Gay” law to the Big Apple, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.
The billboards supporting LGBTQ visibility will be displayed in five major markets in Florida for eight weeks starting Monday, Adams, a Democrat, announced. The announcement came one week after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. DeSantis and fellow Republicans say the new law affirms the right of parents, not teachers, to decide when children learn about sexual orientation and gender identity. Adams called the Florida law “a targeted attack on the LGBTQ+ population.”
No. 6 - Miami Beach Pride is here and there are all types of events throughout the week to mark the annual celebration.
Events run through Apr. 10, and there's something for everyone, from art showcases and social justice evenings to legendary balls and lively parades. Attendees can support Miami Beach's LGBTQ+ community at any one of the events listed at this link. NBC 6 and Telemundo 51 are media partners of Miami Beach Pride.
