It’s Tuesday, May 17th – and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Miami Dade Police remain very tight-lipped about the murder of a transgender woman that happened Saturday and have yet to release details about the case.
Her body was found in a pool of blood at the intersection of NW 32nd Avenue and NW 132nd Terrace in Opa-locka. While waiting for information and answers, more than 100 people stood at the intersection to remember 50-year-old Nedra Sequence Morris. Those who knew her well called her Sequence. The vigil was held at the same spot Sequence’s body was found. Her family says the body was dumped there from a moving vehicle after she was shot in the head at an unknown location Saturday morning.
No. 2 - Police have identified the driver of an SUV that was hit by a small plane when it crashed on the Haulover Inlet Bridge in Miami over the weekend.
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Aida Kazakova, 34, of Sunny Isles Beach, was behind the wheel of the maroon SUV when it was hit head-on by the single-engine Cessna 172 on the bridge Saturday afternoon, Miami-Dade Police officials said Monday. Two children, ages 6 and 2, were in the SUV with Kazakova at the time of the crash, police said. All three were taken to a local hospital for evaluation but miraculously escaped without serious injuries, police said. Federal Aviation Administration officials said three people were onboard the plane when it lost engine power and crashed on the bridge and erupted in flames.
No. 3 - President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are to visit the city of Buffalo on Tuesday, where their first stop will be a makeshift memorial outside the supermarket after a white supremacist targeted Black people with an assault rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and left 10 people dead, the most lethal racist attack since he took office.
They're also expected to meet privately with families of the victims, first responders and local officials before the president delivers public remarks. In a speech at a nearby community center, Biden plans to call for stricter gun laws and urge Americans to reject racism and embrace the nation’s diversity, the White House said. It's a message that Biden has delivered several times since he became the first president to specifically address white supremacy in an inaugural speech, calling it “domestic terrorism that we must confront."
Local
No. 4 - The Biden administration announced Monday that it will expand flights to Cuba, take steps to loosen restrictions on U.S. travelers to the island and lift Trump-era restrictions on remittances that immigrants can send to people on the island.
The State Department said in a statement that it will remove the current $1,000-per-quarter limit on family remittances and will allow non-family remittances, which will support independent Cuban entrepreneurs. The U.S. will also allow scheduled and charter flights to locations beyond Havana, according to the State Department. The administration said it will also move to reinstate the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, which has a backlog of more than 20,000 applications, and increase consular services and visa processing.
No. 5 - Frustrated viewers reached out to NBC 6 Responds after being locked out of their social media accounts.
It’s a common issue, but for the people our team spoke with, it hasn’t been easy to fix. Hacked and locked social media accounts have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic. The Federal Trade Commission tracks complaints of social media identity theft. The FTC shows complaints in this category saw a 48.4% increase since 2019. Both Facebook and Instagram have an online help center if your account has been hacked or disabled, including email addresses to request a review of your account. But they don’t have a number you can call. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones.
No. 6 - The Florida Panthers and Miami Heat will be back in action Tuesday night in the next round of each team’s playoff runs.
The Heat will tip off against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at 8:30 p.m. inside FTX Arena. Miami will be making their ninth conference finals appearance after advancing following a six-game series win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Meanwhile, the Panthers had little time to celebrate after getting their first playoff series win since 1996 last week as they host their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, at 7 p.m. at FLA Live Arena. Tampa Bay knocked Florida out of the playoffs last season in the first round.
