It’s Thursday, January 27th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Investigators say there is only one known survivor of a group of 40 migrants whose boat capsized over the weekend near the coast of Florida.
The Coast Guard says at least one person is dead, and 38 are missing, in what’s being investigated as a human smuggling operation. A woman - who’s only being identified as Marcia - spoke exclusively to NBC 6’s sister station Telemundo on Wednesday, and says the survivor is her son. She says her son was traveling with her daughter as well. Click here for her emotional words in a report from NBC 6’s Ryan Nelson.
No. 2 - As Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is set to retire at the end of the current term, all eyes are on President Joe Biden's pick to replace him.
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Biden has pledged during his presidential campaign that if he were given the chance to nominate someone to the court, he would make history by choosing a Black woman. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson - who currently serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - is one of the names that have seemingly topped any list of potential nominees. Born in Washington D.C., Jackson was raised in Miami and attended Miami Palmetto Senior High School. NBC News reported Jackson, 51, has a background as a public defender, worked on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and has drawn praise for her labor-friendly rulings.
No. 3 - The distribution of free N95 masks is set to begin on Thursday across South Florida.
Last week, the Biden administration announced an initiative that would make 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans. The masks would come from the Strategic National Stockpile, which has more than 750 million of the highly protective N95 masks on hand. Health experts suggest stepping up protection against the highly contagious omicron variant with stronger masks such as N95s or KN95s. So if you don't have N95 masks at home, click here for free distributions taking place at any of the following pharmacies and health centers.
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No. 4 - Police are hoping to pump the brakes on a group of burglars who target luxury cars in the southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood.
Surveillance video from Luciana Fragali Siddons' front yard shows an instance where the burglars got away with a high-end vehicle in the middle of the day. It was around 4 p.m. on a Saturday, and as the Siddons family hosted a barbecue in their backyard — the theft was happening in their front yard. They didn’t realize what was going on until one of their guests walked out to grab a jacket from her car. Click here to see the video in a report from NBC 6's Laura Rodriguez you'll see Only on 6.
No. 5 - There was a tense back and forth Tuesday at the Sunrise commission meeting as the board discussed the incident involving an officer who put his hands on the throat of a female police officer.
The November incident was captured on police body camera video. The conversation started when Sunrise FOP president Steve Negron went before the board to express concerns about the fairness of the internal affairs investigation. Negron had previously sent the commissioners and city manager a letter on the matter. However, the conversation took a tense turn towards the end. Click here to see the wild video in a report from NBC 6’s Alyssa Hyman.
No. 6 - They’re down to the final four at Broward County Public Schools. On Tuesday, the school board narrowed the field from 39 candidates to become the next permanent superintendent of the nation’s sixth-largest school district down to four.
The list includes the current interim superintendent, Dr. Vickie Cartwright, who has served in that position since last August, along with three outsiders. However, because of a concern about a potential Sunshine Law violation, the board will, on Feb. 1, redo the same meeting at which it chose the four finalists. The teacher’s union president told NBC 6 and the board members that they should give Cartwright the permanent job. Click here for more on each candidate in a report from NBC 6’s Ari Odzer.
