It’s Thursday, October 13 - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - The jurors who will decide whether Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is sentenced to death or life without parole requested to view his rifle and didn't reach a decision during the first day of deliberations.
The 12-person panel started discussions Wednesday after getting instructions from Florida Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Scherer. Wednesday evening, the jury requested to view the rifle and ammunition the gunman used in the killings. Scherer said Broward Sheriff's Office officials would have to arrange for them to be shown in court on Thursday. So Scherer dismissed the jurors for the night after they didn't reach a decision.
No. 2 - The grieving mother of a tow truck driver who was struck and killed over the weekend while helping a motorist on the Florida's Turnpike in Broward is speaking out as authorities continue their investigation.
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Darryl Brooks, 22, was killed just after 5 a.m. Saturday in the northbound lanes of the Turnpike near Sunrise Boulevard in Plantation. Brooks had responded to a call to help a stranded motorist when he was struck and killed. "It feels like somebody took my heart out and stepped on it," mother Melinda Cruz Brooks told NBC 6. "I think about him every day, every second." Florida Highway Patrol officials said another driver was heading north on the Turnpike in a Ford F-250 and veered off the roadway and into the shoulder, slamming into the tow truck and sending it into two other vehicles. Brooks, who was outside of his truck, was hit and later died from his injuries.
No. 3 - The town attorney for Pembroke Park filed a police report after receiving a text message from the mayor that included a link to a TikTok video that the attorney perceived as threatening and homophobic.
It’s part of what the town attorney, Melissa Anderson, said is an ongoing feud that she said started when she pointed out a gap in police service when the town switched from Broward Sheriff's Office services to a local police department. Earlier this month, Anderson said she received the TikTok video from Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs, which she took as homophobic and threatening. In the video is a gay woman and a bouncer taking about "masculine women." NBC 6 reached out to the Pembroke Park town mayor to get his side, but Jacobs has not responded.
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No. 4 - Floridians will need about $33 billion in emergency aid from the federal government as the state recovers from the devastation left by Hurricane Ian, the state's Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday.
Rubio said the federal government has an important role to play in Florida's recovery. He said the $33 billion is only an initial assessment of what will be needed and cautioned that the tally is likely to grow. The Army Corps of Engineers needs more than $12 billion to help repair shorelines, dredge navigation channels and increase coastal resilience, Rubio said. The next largest share of funding, $10 billion, would go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which helps families with temporary housing, cleanup and financial assistance to meet critical needs such as food, water and prescriptions. Rubio said nearly $3 billion is needed for the Department of Agriculture to cover costs from loss of crops and trees.
No. 5 - Hispanic heritage has entered the virtual world. The popular video game, Minecraft, has partnered with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation to produce a new educational game called Latin Explorers.
The 3D building game lets young players connect to Hispanic cultural leaders like Dr. Pedro Jose Greer Jr. The Cuban-American and South Floridian was chosen as one of the protagonists in the game as he’s dedicated his life to helping others. In Spanish, he said that he wants players to learn values such as respecting their fellow human, regardless of their background. Dr. Greer was one of the founders of Camillus House in Miami and the St. John Bosco Clinic in Little Havana. Among many other titles and accolades, he’s also a professor at Florida International University. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6's Amanda Plasencia.
No. 6 - The Florida Panthers get their 2022-23 season underway Thursday night on the road as the face the New York Islanders.
Fresh off a 2021-22 season that saw the Cats when the Presidents Cup for the first time in franchise history, Florida welcomes left wing Matthew Tkachuk - acquired in a blockbuster offseason deal with Calgary - along with new head coach Paul Maurice. The Panthers play their first three games on the road before the home opener October 19 against Philadelphia.
