It’s Wednesday, June 29th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Broward County Public Schools has reassigned the Gulfstream Academy of Hallandale Beach principal to another elementary school in the district.
In April, two students were arrested following a fight in the cafeteria. While it’s unclear if the reassignment was a result of the fight, the family of the student who was beaten says this isn’t enough and they want to see more done. Christina Neptune says she pulled her daughter Victoria, 13, out of the school after the brawl. The family says she was beaten unconscious in the cafeteria by other students. “It takes a toll on her daily. She’s crying daily. She still has nightmares from the incident and she still questions herself on how this could have been stopped,” Neptune said. Police arrested two students involved and on Tuesday NBC 6 learned the school’s principal has been reassigned to another school.
No. 2 - Twenty people have been selected so far to sit in judgment of the man who killed 17 and wounded 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018, but the composition of the final 12 main jurors will not be known until Wednesday.
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A jury of seven men and five women were agreed to by both sides Tuesday, but after nine of 10 alternate jurors were chosen, the defense moved to strike one of the original 12. Judge Elizabeth Scherer agreed because the defense had used only seven of the 10 strikes allotted to each side, allowing them to remove potential jurors for almost any reason. But she has so far denied another attempt by the defense to remove one of the original 12, adjourning the hearing until Wednesday morning.
No. 3 - The family of a woman killed in a parasailing accident in the Florida Keys last month is now suing the parasailing company.
The family of Supraja Alaparthi filed a wrongful death lawsuit on her behalf Tuesday morning in Monroe County against Lighthouse Parasail Inc. Two other personal injury lawsuits were also filed against the company on behalf of Alaparthi's 10-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew, who were injured in the incident. The 33-year-old woman and two children were parasailing back on May 30 when the winds picked up and slammed them into the old Seven Mile Bridge west of Marathon, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said.
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No. 4 - Two officers with the Miami Police Department are one step closer to whistleblower protection after coming forward with allegations of activities of corruption against Chief Manuel Morales.
During a hearing Tuesday, the city had no objection to the request to start the process for whistle blowers protection for Commander Brandon Lanier and Detective Wanda Jean-Baptiste. The hearing is based on two letters submitted by them saying Morales was trying to control the outcome of internal affairs investigations. It's the first step to get the federal protection under the Whistleblowers Act. Previously in an exclusive interview with NBC 6, Morales denied those allegations against him and city manager Arthur Noriega previously voiced support for the chief.
No. 5 - After the 50-year precedent of constitutionally protecting the right to abortion was overturned last week, women's reproductive healthcare is now in the hands of states.
Following the Roe v. Wade ruling, the conversation has largely centered around access to contraceptives and abortions—but this is not the only procedure affected by the overturn. Another practice finds itself subsequently threatened by the possibility of a federal abortion ban: fertility treatments. With Florida transitioning to a 15-week abortion restriction on July 1, the limits on the procedure are only becoming stricter. For local fertility clinics, this incites a pressing question: if abortion is banned in Florida, where does that leave procedures such as in-vitro fertilization? Click here for more in a report from NBC6.com’s Sophia Pargas.
No. 6 - You may remember her as the "Napalm Girl" from an iconic Vietnam War photograph but now 50 years later she's in South Florida for treatments with a local burn specialist.
Kim Phuc was just 9 years old when she was photographed moments after a napalm bomb struck her village in Vietnam on June 8, 1972. The moment was immortalized in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, which stands as a stunning image of the horrors of war. "I heard the noise, bup-bup bup-bup, and then suddenly there was fire everywhere around me and I saw the fire all over my arm," Phuc said Tuesday. Now 59, Phuc, who suffered burns on 65% of her body, is undergoing her 12th treatment for the pain and scars suffered in the incident at the Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Cristian Benavides.
