It’s Monday, December 6th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - A vigil was held Sunday on the second anniversary of the murder of Frank Ordonez, a UPS driver who was caught in the middle of a jewelry heist as a hostage when two suspects hijacked the truck he was driving in 2019.
Two years since the shootout, the victim's family is still grappling with reality. His sister, Genevieve Mariano, was comforted by others at the intersection of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road where Ordonez was shot and killed by police. Ordonez was the driver of a UPS truck that was hijacked following the armed robbery and shootout that ended in a hail of gunfire that left four people including Ordonez, an innocent bystander and the two suspects dead in Miramar. To hear how the family is still hurting, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Jamie Guirola.
No. 2 - A viewing was held Sunday for Carrie Meek, the grandchild of a slave and a sharecropper’s daughter who became one of the first Black Floridians elected to Congress since Reconstruction.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Family, friends and local leaders joined the community she served at Booker T. Washington Senior High School for the viewing. Meek died at her home in Miami after a long illness, family spokesperson Adam Sharon said in a statement. She started her congressional career at an age when many people begin retirement. In Congress, Meek championed affirmative action, economic opportunities for the poor and efforts to bolster democracy in and ease immigration restrictions on Haiti, the birthplace of many of her constituents. A wake will be held Monday, December 6 at Miami-Dade College- North Campus and the funeral services will be held Tuesday, December 7 at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church - Miami Gardens Campus at 11 a.m.
No. 3 - A couple reached out to NBC 6 after their dog was killed at a Fort Lauderdale doggie day-care. An older and larger dog killed it after the smaller one broke out of an enclosure.
According to documents from Animal Care and Adoption in Broward County, Charlie, a three-year-old Shih Tzu, broke through a small hole in a fence to a place where Victor, a 14-year-old Doberman was. Charlie’s owners, Denise Norena and Natacha Abreu, have his ashes in a small box in the bedroom. On November 12, they took her to Social Paws Daycare and Boarding facility. They were friends with the owners and never had a bad experience until this day. The couple says they did not get a complete story until after they posted on social media and began speaking to NBC 6. Click here for the story from NBC 6 investigator Phil Prazan you’ll see Only on 6.
Local
No. 4 - Bob Dole, who overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol and celebrant of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans, has died. He was 98.
His wife, Elizabeth Dole, said in an announcement posted on social media that he died early Sunday morning in his sleep. Dole announced in February 2021 that he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. During his 36-year career on Capitol Hill, Dole became one of the most influential legislators and party leaders in the Senate, combining a talent for compromise with a caustic wit, which he often turned on himself but didn’t hesitate to turn on others, too. He tried three times to become president. The last was in 1996, when he won the Republican nomination only to see President Bill Clinton reelected. He sought his party’s presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988 and was the 1976 GOP vice presidential candidate on the losing ticket with President Gerald Ford.
No. 5 - U.S. health officials said Sunday that while the omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading throughout the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalizations.
President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN's “State of the Union” that scientists need more information before drawing conclusions about omicron's severity. Reports from South Africa, where it emerged and is becoming the dominant strain, suggest that hospitalization rates have not increased alarmingly. Fauci said the Biden administration is considering lifting travel restrictions against non-citizens entering the United States from several African countries. They were imposed as the omicron variant exploded in the region, but U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has blasted such measures as “travel apartheid."
No. 6 - It was third-and-goal and Tua Tagovailoa was rolling left, waiting for someone to get open. The play looked as if it was falling apart, until he saw Isaiah Ford create a sliver of space for himself near the side of the end zone. Touchdown.
A team that was once 1-7 and falling apart is now 6-7 and brimming with confidence. Tagovailoa threw a pair of short touchdown passes, and the Dolphins extended their winning streak to five games by topping the New York Giants 20-9 on Sunday. Mack Hollins had the other scoring grab for Miami. Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for 90 yards for the Dolphins, and rookie Jaelan Phillips had two more sacks — giving him five in his past two games. Tagovailoa completed 30 of 41 passes for 244 yards and the two scores. Miami now heads into the bye week before hosting the rival New York Jets on December 19th.
