It’s Monday, June 27th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - After weeks searching for a suspect accused of stealing a car with a nine-month-old baby inside, a woman was arrested Thursday, according to a Sweetwater police report.
Jeanette Munoz was arrested Thursday and is facing charges that include grand theft and false imprisonment of a child, the police report said. The car was stolen June 9th in front of Adela's Coin Laundry at 11050 West Flagler Street, the report said. The baby was reunited with its mother after Sweetwater Police say the child was found about a mile and a half away at Long Gong Chinese restaurant, unharmed. A witness said she saw the mother pull up to the laundromat to pick up clothing and left the child in a car. When she went inside, Munoz got into the car and drove off with the baby inside. A witness inside the restaurant said a woman came by with the baby and said she'd be right back, but never returned.
No. 2 - Some students at Florida International University are gearing up for a demonstration about abortion rights on Monday night.
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Protests continue across the country days after the Supreme Court overturned fifty years of abortion protections. "We are organizing this protest to support the rights of women and people with uteruses to have access to an abortion and reproductive care without interference of the states," Young Democratic Socialists of America member Alex Franzblau said. Archbishop Thomas Wenski released a statement welcoming Friday's ruling, stating that human life begins at conception. In Florida after July 1, a woman cannot have an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Florida does not have a so-called trigger law that would ban abortion almost immediately.
No. 3 - Miami-Dade GOP Chairman Rene Garcia dismissed criticism that the local Republican Party Executive Committee he chairs was being taken over by Proud Boys members.
"For the Miami Herald to identify and say that one or two members, (who) are part of the Proud Boys, is a complete takeover of the GOP... that is pretty much inaccurate and a lie," Garcia said in an interview with NBC 6's Jackie Nespral on the political show Impact. Garcia's comments came after the Miami Herald published an editorial responding to a New York Times report which characterized the Miami-Dade Republican Party as being "gripped" by the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group.
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No. 4 - The bipartisan Safer Communities Act sped through Congress following a string of mass shootings in the U.S.
It was passed by the Senate Thursday and the House on Friday. The legislation provides grants to states for “red flag" laws, enhanced background checks to include juvenile records, and closes what’s known as the “boyfriend loophole.” “I believe that any steps the government might take just to try to stop this situation that is going on, it is a good idea,” said Jose Salas, a firearms instructor who owns Blackhawk Protection Service. “But we need to be very careful that those regulations don’t go against the second amendment. Because that’s a right that we have in the constitution.” The bill also requires enhanced background checks for people ages 18 to 21 and funding for youth mental health services. However, it does not ban assault weapons and require background checks for all gun purchases.
No. 5 - Drivers across the state of Florida are getting some relief at the gas pumps with prices going down for a second straight week.
AAA reports the average price this week is $4.66 a gallon - down 15 cents from last week but still up eight cents from one month ago. In Miami, the average price is $4.75 a gallon - down nine cents from one week ago and up 16 cents from one month ago. The cheapest gallon is at the Mobil station on Southwest 137th Avenue for $4.27. In Broward, the average price is $4.75 a gallon - down 12 cents from one week ago and up 15 cents from one month ago. The cheapest gallon is at the Rocket Fuel station on North 66th Avenue in Davie for $4.33.
No. 6 - Miami Carnival is known as one of the biggest events in South Florida’s Caribbean Community.
The event, referred to as the “ultimate cultural experience” does not take place until Indigenous People’s Day Weekend in October, but one band is already prepared. Four of the leaders behind the carnival band Gen X spoke to NBC 6 about Miami Carnival 2022. “Gen X has been a part of Miami Carnival since at least 1999,” said Tagyei Belinfante, of Gen X Band. “So when you come to Gen X, you’re going to feel what you feel in your home country. So if you are from Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, when you come to Gen X, you’re going to feel that vibe.” This year, the band held a virtual costume launch, on location from Trinidad and Tobago. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6 anchor Cherney Ahmara.
